The undefeated Shore Regional High School field hockey team returned to the NJSIAAGroup I finals this season, winning the 12th state championship in the program’s storied history on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Blue Devils handily defeated Arthur P. Schalick High School (Salem County), 8-0, while holding their opponent to just one shot on goal.
Senior forward Aileen Johnson led Shore Regional (24-0) with four goals in the championship match, and senior Hannah Barreca had one goal and two assists. Senior Alyssa Ercolino added two goals, and junior Gina Ruscil scored once for the Blue Devils, who took 39 shot attempts against Schalick (18-4-2).
Junior Shannon Johnson, Shore Regional’s goalie and Aileen’s sister, earned her 13th shutout of the season. The Blue Devils have been nothing short of dominant for most of the state tournament, outscoring their opponents 32-5.
Shore Regional faced its most difficult challenge against rival Oak Knoll (22-1) in the North II Group I final on Nov. 7 in Chatham.
Oak Knoll won the Tournament of Champions in an undefeated season last year, but the Blue Devils were looking to match their rival this season.
Aileen Johnson and Carol Middough each scored in the second half to secure a comeback victory and the sectional title. Shore Regional fell behind, 1-0, against previously unbeaten Oak Knoll in the first half, but rallied in the second half to topple the defending champions.
The Blue Devils advanced to the group final against South Jersey champion Schalick after edging out Mountain Lakes, 3-2, in their semifinal played Nov. 10 at West Essex in North Caldwell. Ercolino scored two minutes into the match and later scored again to give Shore Regional a two-goal lead at the end of the first half. Aileen Johnson scored the winning goal on a penalty shot as the Blue Devils were able to hold off Mountain Lakes (17-5) the rest of the way.
Shore Regional outshot Mountain Lakes 27-5.
Shore Regional moved on to the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, where they were slated to play Wednesday against West Essex, the Group II champion, at Robbinsville High School starting at 4 p.m.
This four-team season-ending tournament involves the four Group state champions. Eastern (Group IV) and Freehold (Group III) were the other Group champions.
Eastern was seeded No. 1 and played No. 4 Freehold at 6 p.m.
The winners will play Sunday at The College of New Jersey at 11 a.m. for the TOC crown.