Field Hockey: Metuchen's Jeney voted MyCentralJersey.com Athlete of Week

Sarah Jeney's ability to know exactly where she needs to be on the field has been a huge asset for the Metuchen High School field hockey team. 

Against Piscataway in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals, Jeney was in the right place at the right time and scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to send the Bulldogs to the final. 

The junior did it again against South Plainfield in the final as she scored to put Metuchen ahead 1-0 with 14:32 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs made the goal stand up and they won their first GMC Tournament title since 2006. 

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"She’s a very vocal player, she’s definitely helpful for the younger players, she can tell them where they need to be, and she has a very good sense of the game and where she needs to be on the field," Metuchen coach Beth McLaughlin said. "She can read a play very well, she gets herself in position where she can cut off any passes from the other team. She’s also very fast which is very helpful getting the ball up the field."

For her efforts, Jeney was voted as this week's MyCentralJersey.com Athlete of the Week with 46.07 percent of the vote. 

Jeney, who has 11 goals and three assists so far this season, was on the varsity team as a freshman, but didn't get much playing time until last year. This season, Jeney has started and played in every game for the 17-1-1 Bulldogs. 

"I think I improved a lot in the offseason which helps the team, and I like to help my team when I can so they learn from me," said Jeney, who has been playing field hockey since the second grade. "I like to talk to my teammates and give them encouragement and setting them up so they can be in a position to score or make a good play."

Despite having scored two-game winning goals, Jeney is quick to point out that this season and winning the GMC Tournament was a total team effort. 

"It felt really good because we won and it’s obviously good to win, it’s so rewarding because of how hard we all worked during the preseason and the regular season so getting to that place it’s really great," Jeney said. "Our goal this year was the same as last year and I think this year we just finished, which was a big goal and the theme of this year was to finish."

Under McLaughlin, who is in her first year as head coach, the Bulldogs have a sense of familiarity as she coached most of the current players when they were in middle school, which has helped with the team's success this season. 

"My first year of middle school hockey in seventh grade she was my coach and we went undefeated in eighth grade and now we’ve won the GMCs with her," Jeney said. "So it’s not like she’s a new face."

With a sense of comfort and strong team chemistry, Metuchen is looking to take this season as far it can. The Bulldogs are the fifth-seed in the NJSIAA North 2 Group I Tournament, and won their first game 3-0 over No. 12 New Egypt on Tuesday.

"We’re just going to keep playing as long as possible," Jeney said. "It might go one way or the other but we’re happy with how the season turned out and we’re just trying to play for as long as possible."

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