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FIELD HOCKEY

Bridgewater-Raritan field hockey wins 12th-straight sectional title

Lauren Knego
@laurenknego
Bridgewater-Raritan celebrates its 3-1 victory over Hunterdon Central in the North 2 Group IV sectional final on Friday, Nov. 4, 2016.

BRIDGEWATER - When you play for a team that has won 11-straight titles, you don't want to be the ones to break the streak.

The top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan High School field hockey team kept its streak alive Friday, winning its 12th-straight NJSIAA North 2 Group IV sectional title with a 3-1 victory over No. 3 Hunterdon Central.

READ: BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN WINS SCT TITLE

"It feels awesome, it's a great feeling," Bridgewater-Raritan's Sarah Dimock said. "We kind of have to (win) because if we don't, we'll be the first team in however many years, like 12, so it's kind of motivation to keep the legacy going."

Friday's meeting was the third of the season between Bridgewater-Raritan (20-2) and the Red Devils (14-7-1), with the Panthers winning both of the previous games, 5-2 on Sept. 27 and 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 20.

"We knew it was going to be a really tough game, and they come out on fire every time, we expect it," Bridgewater-Raritan's Sadie Herman said. "I think we work together as a team and we pump each other up to get the end result that we want."

The first half was back and forth as both teams had some opportunities to score, but it was the Panthers that got on the board first. With 10:27 to play, Herman took a pass from Tai Jankowski in front of the cage and ripped a shot past Red Devils goalie Elizabeth O'Brien for the 1-0 advantage.

MORE: RIDGE FALLS TO MORRISTOWN IN NORTH 1 GROUP IV

Bridgewater-Raritan kept the pressure on Hunterdon Central, and with 3:25 remaining before halftime Herman scored again on a rebound off a saved shot by O'Brien for a 2-0 lead.

"We didn't really have many opportunities because we played mainly in the middle, and we were kind of down on our end a lot of the time, but once we got it up there we capitalized when we could," Dimock said. "I think we passed really well, our passing combos are normally on point, and I think we found each other well today to get up the field."

Hunterdon Central got one back with 4.4 seconds remaining in the half on a goal by Nikki Freeman to send the game to halftime with Bridgewater-Raritan up 1-0.

The Panthers started the second half strong, and scored just seven minutes in on a goal off a corner. Dimock took a pass from Rachel White to put Bridgewater-Raritan in control 3-1.

"I think we had a really good passing game and we worked really well together today," Herman said. "We connected and communicated on the field."

The Red Devils' defense kept Ally Mastroianni, who leads the Panthers with 28 goals and 19 assists, from doing much damage, and held Bridgewater-Raritan to one of its lowest scoring totals of the season.

Bridgewater-Raritan outshot Hunterdon Central 16-8, but the Red Devils took 13 corners to the Panthers' nine. O'Brien finished with 10 saves for Hunterdon Central while Christina Zydzik stopped seven shots for Bridgewater-Raritan.

The Panthers advance back to the Group IV Tournament, where they've reached the final for the past 11 years, but haven't been able to get past Eastern, which has been a perennial powerhouse in South Group IV. The Vikings won their 18th-straight sectional title on Thursday with a 3-1 win over Shawnee.

"We expect it to be hard, we have to keep working hard," Dimock said. "Today was a big win but now we have to focus on next week."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego