Kristen Dalton, DigitalSports Field Hockey Correspondent



Opening Weekend 

Friday’s Action

      Eight of the ten losing teams were left scoreless on opening day while the other ten filled a number one in the win column. Shore Conference field hockey has officially begun!

      Toms River represented very well as all three schools earned a victory. Toms River East, who had been struggling on the offensive side of the stick during preseason, appeared to have made some adjustments just in time for the start of the season. They defeated Jackson Memorial 5-2 Friday afternoon thanks to the play of Christine Minervini (two goals, one assist) and Rebecca Tamarana (one goal, two assists).

      Toms River North easily defeated Brick 4-0 as Kelly Williams scored two goals on the way to victory, including one off of a penalty stroke. Toms River South left Brick Memorial scoreless with a 2-0 win.

      Lacey and Pinelands battled it out to end, but Lacey was triumphant in the 55th minute when Kelly Klass tied it up and Carrie Smith netted the game-winning goal a minute later.

      Colts Neck faced Long Branch in a nondivisional game and it proved to be a test for both squads. The game remained scoreless until the 56th minute when Anna DeSimone of Colts Neck blasted a free hit into the circle, where Torie Buhl passed it to Jessica Geniton for the game-winning goal. Both goalies had double digit saves on the afternoon: Alexa Petriella (CN) had 10 and Kimberly Ging (LB) had 11.

      Class A Central was the division to be in on Friday afternoon as Red Bank Catholic and St. John Vianney battled it out. Kristen Carter of RBC passed the ball to Allison Porzio off of broken penalty corner play. Porzio found Mara Catlaw, who took advantage of the opportunity and scored, giving the Caseys the 1-0 victory.

      Other notable wins on the afternoon belonged to Central, who defeated Barnegat 7-0; Rumson-Fair Haven, who beat Henry Hudson 6-0; Jackson Liberty, with a win over Point Boro 3-0; and Shore, who defeated St. Rose 6-0. Ali Grandinetti netted two goals and Brenna Rescigno tallied two assists for the Blue Devils. 

Saturday’s Action

      Class B North just might be the most competitive division, especially if the rest of these games go anything like the way Saturday’s Wall-Freehold game went. A scoreless board at the end of regulation meant over-time was in order. A matter of winning or losing, for this game at least, depended on being in the right place at the right time. Rachel Clayton of Wall did just that. Only 2:31 into extra time, Clayton found the left corner of the net as she rebounded a shot from teammate Jenna Balka. Wall out-shot Freehold 13-10 and Freehold goalie Nicole Terrigno recorded 12 saves on the afternoon.

      Freehold Township defeated Howell 3-1. Kara Cronin was able to put the Patriots on the board first when she scored from a penalty stroke at 18:56. Teammate Courtney Petty scored shortly after at 19:23 and Britany Schram added two assists on the game.

      Ocean fought hard for its 2-1 comeback win over Red Bank. Anne Geltzeiler gave Red Bank the early lead at 6:40 but the Spartans scored two consecutive goals by Mallory Nelson at 14:20 and Becky Gilman at 18:47 to give them the victory. Ocean’s Alexa Abdelaziz recorded both assists.

      Two early goals by Neptune proved to be enough as the Scarlet Fliers defeated Long Branch 2-0. Kierstan Tagnosky struck first at 1:41 and Janese Ellision scored at 9:15 to edge the Green Wave.

      Holmdel left Manasquan scoreless in a 5-0 victory on Saturday. Kristen Gagliardi had quite the afternoon with a hat trick, scoring at 12:06, 31:40 and 49:15. The Hornets scored their other two goals off penalty corners when Kristen Davila netted at 42:52 and Krista Morello shortly after at 44:55. Davilla also had two assists.

      Shore added another tally to the win column after defeating Southern 5-0. Allegra Mango recorded two goals and one assist on the afternoon and Blue Devil goalie Erin Flannigan earned her second shutout of the year.

      Other notable wins include Raritan, who defeated Matawan 4-0; Middletown North, who had a 7-0 victory over Manalapan; Barnegat, who beat Brick Memorial 2-1; and Allentown, who defeated Lacey 4-0. 

Player Spotlight

      JILLIAN ANZALONE: Jackson Liberty’s senior forward recently gave a verbal commitment to Wake Forest University, where she will continue her field hockey career next season. Wake Forest is currently ranked the No. 1 team in the country. According to head coach Lori Burns, Anzalone was only one of three recruits they were taking.

      “That’s a big deal for her. She’s worked her butt off for four years. She went there last weekend for her official visit and verbally committed. She’s ready to go,” said Burns. “She’s definitely a stand-out. She’s been our captain for three years and she’s earned a lot.”