Freehold High School’s Kate Pianko, middle, races up the field during the NJSIAA North Jersey, II Group IV final against Summit High School in Freehold Nov. 5. The Colonials rallied twice in the match but lost to Summit on penalty strokes. REBECCA NOWALSKI Long after the season has faded away, the Freehold High School field hockey team will regret lost opportunities.
The Colonials outshot and outplayed a very good Summit High School team in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section II, Group III final Nov. 6, but it didn’t matter in the end. The teams played to a 2-2 tie through 60 minutes of regulation play, and 20 more minutes in sudden death overtime didn’t settle anything.
On the strength of goalie Maddie Gaeta stopping all three Colonials shots in the penalty stroke shootout, Summit won the shootout, 3- 0, and with it, the state sectional title.
It was the second straight year the Colonials lost in the state sectionals at home in a shootout.
Colonials head coach Kelly Craig had no complaints about her team’s effort.
“You gave everything you had,” she told her team after the game.
Lost in the defeat was Freehold’s dramatic rally.
Trailing, 2-1, late in the game and having been turned aside time after time by the Hilltoppers defense and Gaeta, Freehold managed to tie the game. Alex Bock made a strong run upfield on the wing and delivered a crossing pass that Tori Tiefenthaler slammed home for the game-tying goal with just 9:16 left in the game.
Overall, Freehold outplayed Summit, having 20 penalty corners to just eight for the Hilltoppers. Unfortunately, the Colonials could only convert on one of those plays. That was Kate Pianko’s goal that tied the game, 1-1, midway through the first half.
Summit, meanwhile, made the most of its limited opportunities. The Hilltoppers struck early on their first deep foray into the Colonials’ third of the field. After a series of passes, Ariana Tsanas slapped home a feed from Sophia Pollinger and the visitors had the quick 1-0 lead.
Freehold got back to dominating possession and finally cashed in on one of its penalty corners when Pianko scored.
In the second half, Summit regained the lead when Pollinger streaked unchecked past the Colonials defense and scored on a breakaway.
Undeterred, the Colonials kept coming back and did everything but score. Shots went wide or were deflected wide, and others were kicked back by Gaeta or smothered by the Summit defense. Sometimes the Colonials fanned on shots. But the one constant was Freehold relentless attack. It finally paid off when the Colonials broke through on Bock’s play.
“We possessed the ball more, which is what we work on,” Craig said. “That’s our focus.
“The ball didn’t find its way in the goal [against Summit].”
The two sudden-death overtimes played 7-on-7 produced some agonizing close calls for the Colonials, but they were unable to score. The game went into the penalty stroke shootout as a result.
Gaeta was the difference, stopping all three Colonials shots. Summit players went 3-for-4. The victory improved Summit to 16-7. “We knew that Summit would be tough,” Craig said. “They’ve faced tough competition are year.”
The Hilltoppers play in the very competitive Essex/Union Conference that features the ranks of national power Oak Knoll School and state power West Essex High School.
Despite being deprived of a fifth state sectional title, the Colonials collected their ninth division title — repeating as Shore Conference A North champion — and concluded a memorable season with a 13-2-3 record.
“Nothing we did today deters from what we accomplished as a team,” Craig said.
One of the teams Freehold beat en route to the finals was Colts Neck High School in the quarterfinals. The Cougars (9-8-1) put together their best season in years.