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Girls soccer: Late charge leads Hunterdon Central to 4th straight Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex crown

Simeon Pincus
@SimeonPincus

Senior Kelly Lehman came off to bench to snap a scoreless tie with 12:00 left in regulation, before junior Mackenzie added some insurance nine minutes later, and the top-seeded Hunterdon Central High School girls soccer team captured the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament championship with a 2-0 victory over No. 2 Sparta on Saturday at Warren Hills High School.

Brie Pavol assisted on Lehman’s tally, before Luciana Zullo set up Mullins’ goal.

Senior keeper Bristol Pizzuto made six saves for the Red Devils (15-4-1), including a series of rapid-fire game-saving stops with the game still scoreless, aided by a clearance off the line by Shaye Seyffart.

“I think it’s a confirming kind of message for them to understand there’s not a lot that can get us down,” said Hunterdon Central coach Jeannine Calhoun, whose team outshot the Spartans 24-6. “To come off an improved Ridge performance (in a 1-0 loss Tuesday) and an overtime win over Bridgewater (Thursday), and then to win the county championship, it’s a tremendous way to go into the state tournament.

The victory marked the fourth straight tri-county title for Hunterdon Central, which has played in six of the seven HWST finals since the Hunterdon/Warren Tournament added Sussex County in 2009. And while the streak wasn’t something the Red Devils focused on leading up to Saturday’s match, it’s certainly something they take pride in.

“It wasn’t really something we talked about beforehand, it was something we discussed afterwards,” Calhoun said. “It’s a great accomplishment for the seniors to have that under their belts for four years, and they told all the underclassmen they expect it again for next year.”