Scholastic Notes

Tri-State region

New Jersey

NEW JERSEY FINALS HAD TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED

It's too bad that CN8, the Comcast-owned statewide cable network, stopped broadcasting the state field hockey championship games in 1998.

That's because the network missed a lot in 2004, not to mention previous years.

Needless to say, if the games had been broadcast, you would have seen the entire totality of dominance over the past six seasons by Voorhees Eastern (N.J.), which bested Flemington Hunterdon Central (N.J.) 7-0 for the fourth straight year in the Group IV championship game. It was the most lopsided New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association field hockey final in recent memory.

"It's something I've never, ever thought I would experience," said Eastern head coach Danyle Heilig. "It's taken on a life of its own, between the kids, the parents, the administration, and the school, supporting us. It's a tradition now, and as much confidence as the streak (now at 138 games without a loss) gives them, I'm sure there's a bit of fear; nobody wants to be the first to lose."

And, for the third straight year, the team was given the TopOfTheCountry trophy for being the finest field hockey team in all the land.

"I cannot believe that it has been six years," Heilig said. "I was telling (former Eastern standout, now assistant coach) Lindsay Domers coming up here, 'You know, it was six years ago when you were making this drive up here.' This has been the greatest ride of my life."

The match was a bit of sweet redemption for center forward Meghan Bain, who had to be carted off the field with a head injury suffered in the 2003 final. But she had a pair of goals in the 2004 final to bring her season total to 49, one of the nation's leading scorers.

"It's been crazy this year," Bain said. "We had to take every game one game at a time, and play our hardest every time out."

The end of the game signified the end of an unprecedented era for three of the most dominating, quick, and skilled players ever to don the kilts. Ashley, Melissa, and Lauren Walls have perhaps a different mental makeup from any field hockey player since the era of the Fuchs sisters from Centereach, N.Y. in the late 70s and early 80s.

The trio buzzed the Hunterdon Central defense all game long, even after the result was secured. Needless to say, these three young women are good at what they do, which is win. From sixth grade at Berlin Community School through their career at Eastern, their record is a combined 131 wins, no defeats, and two draws.

"They're so close to me, beyond just being athletes, and I'm very sad that this is my last game with them," Heilig said through a curtain of tears. "They bring leadership, a relentless work ethic, and they're so tenacious on the field. I think so many kids aspire to play like that."

Similar individual excellence was on display when it came to Moorestown. And if the game had been on CN8, you might have been able to slow down the game-winning scoring play in the 54th minute. It was a play that Amy Lewis and Jenny Lubin had down pat, especially whenever a free hit was awarded in a dangerous position on an angle.

"They've scored on that one five or six times," said the legendary Moorestown head coach Joan Lewis, who passed Linda Alimi of North Caldwell West Essex as the 12th-winningest field hockey coach of all time with the win. "Jenny will give a little nick of the stick or a nod, and Amy can see the space, and puts it across to her."

And with Amy Lewis' lightning-bolt of a free hit from about 22 yards, Lubin deflected in the game-winner to beat Flanders Mount Olive (N.J.) 2-1.

It was the Quakers' 15th state championship, most of any other Federation school.

"As far as the 15 goes, that's a record that other teams will be shooting for," said Joan Lewis "But what I will remember are the 17 seniors, who have been with us since middle school."

But she will also remember that this win was not easy, thanks to Mount goalie Jenna Grossman, whose play during the 2004 Futures Tournament garnered accolates from friend and foe alike.

And during this championship game, Grossman was outstanding, particularly defending penalty corners. At times, she almost played the part of a second trailer. Other times, she logged and stopped shots that way, too.

"It's great having someone like her because it gives you an extra defender," said Marauders' head coach Brigitte Geiger. "Her anticipation allows her to do the stack, and get upright for the high shot."

Similar goalkeeping was expected from North Caldwell West Essex all-everything Alex Ruggieri. But when her team and Collingswood crossed sticks in the Group II final, the game played out very unlike the time when Group II was the toughest state tournament in the country.

Rather, the ball stayed in the midfield most of the match, and only six shots found the goal frame. But the one that went in is one that will be talked about for a while, especially if the game had been shown on CN8.

On the play, a 1-Up corner was taken, and the ball came off the stick a little higher than the 18-inch goal board, but was dipping down when it struck Ruggieri for the initial save. In a whisk of sticks and legs, Ruggieri lost one of her white mitts, but Panther forward Stefanie Bucholski didn't lose the ball, and she rapped it against the goal board off a rebound.

"The officials told me that the initial hit went off a defender's stick, which, if it was, would be legal," said West Essex head coach Jill Cosse. "But it shouldn't have come to that; we sat back, waiting for a goal to be scored on us to start playing."

Colls senior goalie Christa Buccilli, who made three saves, was in total shock and tears after the final whistle.

"She had a nice game today, and a great season," said Collingswood coach Sandy Ritter. "This whole season has been a dream, and I can't believe it's over. We had to come in here and not panic, because the seniors hadn't been here."

In the Group I championship, Martinsville Pingry School met Plumsted New Egypt for the second consecutive year. While there were no penalty strokes taken in the match this time around, the result was the same: a Big Blue win. The 2-0 win was the fourth time the college preparatory school -- which played in the Colonial Hills Conference -- has won the small-school title.

"We knew, from watching the tapes from last year, that they had a lot of speed," said Pingry head coach Judy Lee. "What we wanted to do was to get ready for it."

And they were. Goals from Katrina Pregibon and Julie Hamilton gave Pingry the win over the Warriors.

But a budding rivalry could be developing with New Egypt when it comes to the championship final.

"We're going to keep at it, and do our best," said New Egypt head coach Patti Nicholson. "I thought we executed, got the ball into the circle, got corner plays, but we didn't put the ball in the cage."

AT 138 GAMES, EASTERN TAKING A LIKING TO MCALEER

The finest scholastic field hockey team of the young millenium, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.), had to find a new home in the fall of 2004. New construction near the parking lot at the eastern end of the school meant the end of the team's old hockey ground.

The campus, located near a golf course in an area of Voorhees Township called Coffins Corner, could not expand and add more fields. The district decided to upgrade its football field, McAleer Stadium, to artificial grass -- as if the Vikings needed any more help extending their streak of state titles.

The Vikings turbocharged their already powerful attack, beating quality opponents by some amazing scorelines at the new field. A week after beating a very good North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.) team 6-0, Eastern stopped Woolwich Kingsway (N.J.) -- the last team to earn a draw against the juggernaut -- by a 9-0 scoreline.

A subsequent 2-1 win over national powerhouse Emmaus (Pa.) and a 7-0 win over Flemington Hunterdon Central (N.J.) in the New Jersey Group IV final boosted Eastern's Federation-record unbeaten streak to 138 games -- 106 by shutout. And head coach Danyle Heilig still has not lost a game in her head coaching tenure at Eastern.

There has been some early benefits to the new surface: true rolls and bounces amongst them. But there was an unexpected benefit as well: rain resistance. Eastern and Washington (N.J.) Township managed to get in an early-season game despite the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne, which washed out most games in a 200-mile radius.

During the team's first 10 minutes of actual varsity competition at McAleer Stadium, Eastern scored three goals on the way to an easy 5-0 win over Marlton Cherokee (N.J.)

"We always want to get on the scoreboard quick," Eastern senior Lauren Walls tells The Camden Courier-Post. "We were just so hyped to play this game. I think our excitement took over us a little bit, but that's all right."

One minor hiccup, however, might be the road games that the Vikings face. The team used the old freshman field hockey site to prepare for grass games. That certainly came in handy in an early-season test at Medford Lenape (N.J.). The Vikings struggles at times on the afternoon, but a single bolt-of-lightning goal gave them a deserved 1-0 win.

On the play, a goalkeeper save dropped delicately into space along the Eastern right wing corner, whereupon attacker Lauren Walls swooped onto the loose ball and knocked a stiff cross onto the stick of teammate Meghan Bain. The speed of the pass and the quality of the deflection meant that Bain could do almost nothing but score.

MERCER COUNTY TITLE REMAINS OUTSIDE COUNTY BORDERS

And, for the second year in a row, the Mercer County Tournament championship trophy will be in Monmouth County.

That was assured once Allentown (N.J.) bested Princeton Stuart Country Day School (N.J.) 2-0 in a final played on the artificial grass at Mercer County Community College. It was the second straight title for Allentown, which plays in this single-elimination tournament since it is a member of the Colonial Valley Conference.

The story on the day was not the goals, but the goalkeepers. A pair of outstanding juniors -- Krista Goeke of the Tartans, Caitlyn Ryan for the Redbirds -- showed why New Jersey is a goalkeeping hotbed.

Ryan and her defense withstood 13 Stuart corners, and even stopped a late penalty stroke off the stick of Alice Murnen.

"It was definitely the reps that helped me; we took strokes before the game," Ryan said.

And with quickness, strength, and confidence, Goeke is already in the class of great goalkeepers such as Hannah Murnen and Gia Fruscione who have come through this small Roman Catholic school.

"They're side-by-side, and she's got another year to go," said Stuart head coach Missy Bruvik. "Krista rose to the occasion in the second half. She's an outstanding keeper and the kids know how fortunate we are to have her."

But Allentown, playing as well as it did when it won the Group II title in 1997, got both its goals in the first half thanks to Lindsey Leck's lightnihg-fast closing speed. Leck, who has already committed to play at the University of Connecticut, scored one goal and set up Amy Hierhager for the other.

"It's a little ironic to bring the Mercer title to Monmouth County," Leck said. "We felt like everyone wanted to beat us, so we wanted to bring the title to our school again, for the second time."

MCT GAMES ADD A LITTLE COLOR

At the final of the Mercer County Tournament, there were some shadows moving in on the foggy confines of MCCC Stadium; the red and black of Allentown, and the forest green of Princeton Stuart Country Day School.

What? No team wearing a light-colored jersey?

Nope. You see, Federation rules have been moving ever closer to FIH rules when it comes to many aspects of the game, but not when it comes to uniforms.

At one time, the rulebook specified that the host had to wear white and the other team wore a colored jersey, which led to some games in which both teams wore, for example, slighly different shades of yellow for their matches. But by the late 90s, the Federation standard referred to "light" or "dark" uniforms.

But the NFHS standards, however, have not yet taken into account the fact that international rules now ban certain colors, like white and dark green, on shoes, socks, and/or goalkeeper pads.

So, when you were watching the MCT final and semifinal matches, you got a bit of a European soccer feel with both teams wearing their full complement of school colors instead of one "deferring" to white.

It might start a trend.

PARALLEL TEAMS, PARALLEL RESULTS

South Brunswick (N.J.) and Monroe (N.J.) are less than five miles apart, between Princeton and New Brunswick. Their programs are in their infancy, and play in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which has rarely made any sort of statewide noise in the game of field hockey.

Playing the third installment of their series in early September 2004, the teams played to their second draw. And the two teams now seem to have a pretty good rivalry going, judging by the post-game commentary.

"The girls are not happy with this," Matlack tells The Cranbury Press. "They weren't happy after we scored (in the 25th minute), because they knew we had 30 more minutes to play. They weren't happy at the end of the game, when they scored (in the 48th minute) and it was 1-1. They're not happy coming out of this with a tie. They want more."

"The girls really turned it around in the second half," said Monroe head coach Virginia Gonzalez said to The Press. "All the things that I told them that they needed to fix, they came out and fixed them. They put a lot of pressure on. They did all the right things. We had corners; we had shots on goal. We just didn't finish."

Pennsylvania

PENNSYLVANIA FINALS FEATURE TWO DEGREES OF DOMINANCE

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state finals are some of the best and most competitive championships in the United States, and the 2004 versions had a lot to live up to, given the fact that both the AA and AAA games went into overtime in 2003, finishing with 1-0 results.

The 2004 championship featured two games in which two very different types of scores resulted from one team's dominance.

In the AA final, Mountain Top Crestwood (Pa.), the No. 2 team in the TopOfTheCircle.com Top 10 for the week ending Nov. 15, had to play Kingston Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) for the third time this season.

This means, of course, that the Jim Davis First Law of Field Hockey came into play. Crestwood, after 3-1 and 5-1 wins over the Blue Knights during the season, came out strong and possessed the ball for large portions of the game, outshooting the opposition 17-4 and outcornering them 14-0. However, Sem bunkered down well in the 16 and flummoxed the high-powered Comets' attack.

"They had a lot of great forwards, so we knew we had to shut them down whenever they got inside the 25," said Wyoming Seminary senior captain Laura Suchoski. "We did pretty well most of the game."

"She had a superb game today, and was an extension of her goalie the entire time," said Crestwood's Caitlin McCurdy of her rival and United States U-21 teammate. "She made it incredibly hard for us to score today, and played an absolutely great game."

Amie Survilla, the nation's leading scorer for 2004 (63 goals), had some chances in the attack end, but neither her nor her teammates could send the ball into the cage during regulation.

It took a couple of amazing individual efforts on the part of Crestwood to win the game in overtime, however. Fullback Erica Suitch tackled back on one of two breakaways that the Comets yielded in the 7-on-7 overtime, and Elizabeth Drazdowski ended matters in the 70th minute by dribbling up the left endline, moving the goalie, and finding the side backboard with a bouncing shot.

"The whole game, we were there and we just couldn't seem to get it in," Drazdowski said. "I, personally, was really itching to get the ball into the cage and put the game away. I'm sure everyone else was, too, but I just wanted to win."

"I had total faith that what we were doing all year was going to continue," said Crestwood head coach Elvetta Gemski. "Pretty or not, I was going to take a goal any way we could get it."

But Sem fans probably will be talking about a long through pass a few seconds earlier which cable television replays suggested might have been deflected by a Blue Knight's attacking stick.

"I don't know," Suchoski said. "It was a close call, but sometimes the calls don't go your way. We can't dwell on that; we played a great game."

In the AAA final, what will be talked about will be the utter dominance of Emmaus (Pa.), which beat Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (Pa.) 4-0. The result tied for the largest margin in a PIAA field hockey final, but it is probably hard to find one in which the difference between the gold and silver medal teams was more pronounced.

The Green Hornets, the No. 5 team in the TopOfTheCircle.com Top 10 for the week ending Nov. 15, stepped on the accelerator from the very first minute of the match and never let up, out-shooting Coughlin 17-6 and outcornering the Crusaders 12-9.

"We came in with a lot of enthusiasm," said junior midfielder Tara King. "We received an article written about the game, and they said that we were 'an OK team.' That pumped us up even more. Our enthusiasm today was unbelievable."

Coughlin, after winning its first District 2 Class AAA title in 24 years and winning its first PIAA playoff game in the 2004 postseason, had no response against Emmaus, which had won six titles coming into the match.

"Everything happened so fast, no one had time to absorb," said a frustrated Coughlin head coach Colleen Wood. "It just wasn't our day today; we played better games coming into today."

"It was a job well done on everybody's part," said Emmaus head coach Susan Butz-Stavin, the nation's second all-time winningest coach with 585. "And you know what's really cool about this one? Cindy Werley, who was on my first state championship team as a junior, was here for the game. And her sister's a junior, so there's a lot more to be written."

Jess Werley has found herself in the midst of the action in big games this season. She had a pair of second-half goals in the Coughlin final, following up a big goal in a mid-season showdown with Voorhees Eastern (N.J.).

"In a way, (the 2-1 loss) helped us," the younger Werley said. "We had to learn how to take a loss. We wanted to win, but it was a good game."

WASHINGTON WINS 12-AAA TITLE, BUT ALMOST NEVER PLAYED THE SEASON

There should have been plenty of hopeful and optimistic hearts with arms and legs at play that first practice at Philadelphia George Washington (Pa.)

The seven teams in the Public League were getting a guaranteed ticket to the PIAA Tournament in 2004, plus upgrades to competition surfaces which resembled Oklahoma hayfields with Picasso sculptures jutting up at odd angles every few hundred yards.

But when Carolyn Swanson opened the door to practice, only six pairs of eyes stared back at her.

Rut-roh.

The team went from recruits to recruiters. The team trolled the school for athletes and warm bodies, even going in front of school assemblies to ask for help.

Despite making subtle changes to the team roster until October, Washington was able to win its 11th straight Public League title with a 1-0 win over Philadelphia Central High (Pa.). Melanie Gamble's goal in the 53th minute settled the outcome.

"I'm just so proud of what we've accomplished," senior Hallie Kline tells The Philadelphia Inquirer. "We worked extremely hard. I know I went on stage and embarrassed myself trying to recruit players for the team, but I can now say that we won the league championship all four of my years."

The process for earning respect for District 12 schools awaits. But the process of building this team was something special.

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH MAKES WAVES IN DISTRICT 1-AAA

In Pennsylvania's district qualification system for AAA field hockey teams, District 1 always has some of the most interesting play. The district, a sizable hunk of Southeastern Pennsylvania, is a mixture of conference champions and at-large teams whose seedings are selected about the time their identities are known, which often makes for some very interesting matchups since the teams are not reseeded every round.

Certain coaches relish the district tournament -- perhaps no one moreso than Pat Toner, head coach of Holland Council Rock South (Pa.). And her prowess at focusing her team to the task at hand was probably no stronger than when her 12th-seeded Golden Hawks beat fifth-seeded Collegeville Perkiomen Valley (Pa.).

Steph Rossi got the golden goal in the 68th minute, following up her own rebound off a breakaway.

Toner got her team to play a bend-but-don't-break defense and struck quickly on attack, which seemed a little weird given the fact that PV had such an outstanding forward line.

"I knew they were so much better than us that it's not even funny," Toner told The Bucks County Courier-Times. "They outscored us by 50 goals during the season. I think our league prepares us for this kind of competition because every game is a struggle."

Toner, as is her wont, got some outside help for her dilemma. This time, she got her game plan from the school's soccer coach.

"I want to give credit to Jim Dunn," Toner said of her coaching colleague. "I talked to him about their how their forward line is unbelievable and he gave us the plan."

CRESTWOOD MAKES STATEMENT IN TOUGH WEEK

For the first time in several years, a Class AA school may be the best field hockey team in the state of Pennsylvania.

Mountain Top Crestwood (Pa.) staked such a claim with not one, but two dominating wins in the 2004 Warwick Classic, beating Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.) and Lititz Warwick (Pa.) 4-0 on the same day.

But in what is proving to be the toughest scholastic field hockey league in the nation -- the Wyoming Valley Conference -- there are plenty of obstacles for the Comets. In early October, Crestwood had to play Kingston Wyoming Seminary and Lehman Lake-Lehman in the space of three days.

No problem. The Comets beat Sem 3-1 and Lehman 2-0. If at any time Crestwood's undefeated record seemed to be in jeopardy, it was the match held in Lake-Lehman's artificial grass stadium. Lehman played quick, enterprising hockey even as the Comets held a huge possession advantage throughout the first half.

The pattern continued until the 38th minute, when the Black Knights sprung a 2-v-1 and got an open shot that just flew wide of the goalpost.

From then on, fortune smiled on Crestwood. The Comets' first touch on penalty corners had failed on many of their 19 opportunities. But Julie Kuhns executed on the "round-the-horn" corner to the right post, where Elizabeth Drazdowski converted in the 41st minute.

The goal opened up the game a little; junior attacker Amie Survilla just missed a diving reverse chip, and Lake-Lehman earned some late corners, before one of which head coach Jean Lipski called a timeout. But the execution out of the huddle did not draw the Knights level.

"It was your typical Lehman-Crestwood game," said senior quad-captain Caitlin McCurdy. "Lots of fan turnout, and the intensity was just as high, but I felt our team energy was a lot more positive than usual. This is the first time since I've played here, and it's bittersweet to have that happen my senior year, that we've beaten them in our first league match against them."

Both teams had great opportunities, but Lehman goalkeeper Shannon Prescott and Crestwood netminder Lissa Munley were outstanding.

"My defense is amazing," Munley said. "Today, we were so pumped up that we knew if we kept shooting, we could win."

Also outstanding was Comets corner flyer and back Samantha Parks, whose fearless shotblocking was a throwback to another era.

"Our midfield is crucial," said Crestwood head coach Elvetta Gemski. "Samantha Parks comes up for us on corners, and is able to play it just like a midfielder."

WASHINGTON HAS A LEG UP IN DISTRICT 12

A new membership structure in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association now allows the seven Philadelphia public schools that play field hockey to compete for a state tournament berth.

And the two schools thought to have the best chance to make the tournament -- Philadelphia George Washington (Pa.) and Philadelphia Northeast (Pa.) met to see who would get the early advantage on the season.

A first-half goal off the stick of Washington's Hallie Kline gave the Eagles a 1-0 win over Northeast. Ironically, Northeast is coached by Kline's uncle, Mitch Kline.

WYOMING SEMINARY KEEPER IS ON GUARD

For Erin McGinley, her sophomore field hockey season has been much different from what she expected.

With scant experience playing in the goal cage, limited to sub-varsity and offseason play, she was entrusted with the goalie pads for one of the best teams in Pennsylvania, Kingston Wyoming Seminary.

In the first month of 2004, McGinley has risen beyond all expectations. She had five shutouts to start the season.

Not bad for one who was put in the cage when the expected starter, Maura McCormick, suffered an injury playing spring soccer.

"It was a sacrifice she made for the team to come off the field and go into the cage," the legendary coach Karen Klassner tells The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader. "Maura wasn't 100 percent and we knew she wouldn't be that way for a good part of the season. We needed a backup plan. We didn't anticipate Erin responding the way she has. Some of the things she has done have been amazing."

Such as forgetting about the ones that went in; McGinley gave up a goal in the fourth minute of a showdown with up-and-coming Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (Pa.), but held off the Crusaders for the balance of the contest, allowing her Sem teammates to escape with a 2-1 win.

EAGLES-OWLS MATCH DEFINITELY IN SCHAFER CITY

When Natalie Schafer took the job at Bensalem (Pa.), one of the first dates circled on her calendar was Sept. 15, a game played against Bristol Conwell-Egan (Pa.).

That her father Dave was coaching the opposition had much to do with it.

You see, Bensalem is a team which has never threatened the upper reaches of the Suburban One League, but, thanks to a 3-0 win against Conwell-Egan, perhaps the Owls may be showing signs of learning from Natalie, one of the all-time greats to come out of her alma mater.

"I'm so proud of her," said Dave to the Bucks County Courier-Times. "I know her work ethic and the way she approaches things, and I knew she was going to be successful. She's done a fantastic job with that team."

It was the first time in seven years that Bensalem beat the Eagles.

"Every day, before this game, he would come home and tell me how things were going and who was playing well, and I wanted to hear about it," Natalie told The Courier-Times. "I did the same. But neither one of us were taking notes or anything like that. We never felt that by talking we were giving things away. We try to help each other out, and this is a nonleague game."

NAZARETH'S DATE WITH FRANCES

Nazareth (Pa.) Area was one of eight teams to play in the 2004 Kaylee Scholarship Associates tournament at Walt Disney World in Orlando over Labor Day Weekend.

Problem was, there was (literally) a Texas-sized storm coming their way. Frances, a Category 4 hurricane, slammed into Florida and dumped copious amounts of rain on a state already reeling from the arrival of Hurricane Charley several weeks previous.

But the Blue Eagles were planning to soldier on.

Right now we're playing it by ear," said head coach Beth Reiss to the Easton Express-Times, shortly before Nazareth was to play a doubleheader on Sept. 3.

The tropical rains, however, forced the cancellation of games the next two days, although, according to Nazareth athletic director Bob Holland. Depending on the availability of a dry field and umpires, Holland reported to the Express-Times that the Blue Eagles might actually try to make up one of the lost weekend matches.

C.B. SOUTH'S TEAMS TO PLAY WITHOUT A SCHOOL

The opening of Warrington Central Bucks South (Pa.) was to have made a large change in the academic lives of a wide swath of land north of Philadelphia.

But the school did not open on time and was not scheduled to open until at least January of 2005, forcing new athletic director Mike Dougherty to do some last-minute scrambling.

In a very important move, the school board voted to install portable trailers near the construction site, seeing as state rules mandate that locker room facilities be provided on campus for school athletic teams -- whether or not the school actually opens.

For now, the field hockey team will be practicing at Buckingham Central Bucks East (Pa.), whilst playing the majority of its games on the road.

Not that it mattered; the Titans were able to beat Levittown Pennsbury (Pa.) 3-0 in the season opener.

FIELD UPGRADE A BIG PLUS FOR ONE PROGRAM

At one time, Bristol Harry S Truman (Pa.) relied on luck and long grass to slow down better-skilled opposition in field hockey games.

But with $1.6 million to redo the school's football field, which also serves as the football home of nearby Bristol Conwell-Egan Catholic (Pa.), the field hockey team is looking forward to a different kind of home-field advantage.

"This is the ultimate multi-use facility," Truman athletic director Tom Cahill tells the Bucks County Courier-Times. "It's going to absolutely fulfill the layperson's interpretation of the multi-use facility."

More than an acre of NexTurf is now at Harry C. Morgan Stadium, and it has brightened the prospects across the athletic program at the school.

"It has kind of a reputation - maybe what we'd call a 'pit,'" said Levittown, Pa. resident Jim Stevenson, who is a regional football official. "So I think this stadium is good for the township. We have the best field in the whole area. I take pride in this, and I think the whole township should be proud."

New York

MARATHON'S STREAK COMES TO END AT 87 MATCHES

Meghan Dean has been a mainstay for Marathon (N.Y.) Central since joining the program in eighth grade. But in her sophomore year, she may be taking on the role of game-changer.

Her latest heroics were hitting for a pair of goals in a 3-0 win Tioga. Previously, she had two second-half goals in a 4-2 win over Union Springs (N.Y.), then had a goal and setting up another in a 7-0 win over Newark Valley (N.Y.).

Until the Olympians ran into Harpursville (N.Y.) in the Section 4 Class C final, losing in overtime, the Olympians had not lost in 87 games, a state record and the fourth longest winning streak in Federation history.

Dean has been particularly good in the clutch. She broke a tie in an early-season match against Tioga (N.Y.) in the 57th minute of play, then capped it off with a goal in the final 40 seconds to take a 3-1 win. She scored a breakaway goal in the fifth minute of overtime against Spencer-Van Etten (N.Y.) to take a 2-1 win. And Dean's corner goal in the 55th minute of the first game against Union Springs (N.Y.) sent the match to overtime, wherein she put away an overtime penalty stroke after being fouled from behind.

The S-VE win was the sixth in 2004 that the Olympians have won by a goal, and the third overtime win. Marathon also strung five straight shutouts close to the end of the season.

But in the Harpursville match, Dean was almost able to connect again in an overtime situation, taking a Hannah Greip through pass in alone on goal, but the touches went begging. Harpursville would score the golden goal in the 68th minute.

"It's been a long time," Marathon coach Karen Funk told The Binghamton Press. "These kids haven't lost and it's tough for them."

BRONXVILLE'S SMITH BRINGS HER RESOLVE TO TEAM

Courtnie Smith has been though more than any field hockey coach should over the last four years.

Smith, head coach of Bronxville (N.Y.) had to see her team through the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, bringing her Broncos to the state championship game.

In 2002, her future father-in-law died. Then in 2003, her mother passed away shortly before the season started. It was anyone's guess as to whether Smith would be coaching at Bronxville again.

"I was not anticipating coming back last season," Smith tells the Journal-News of Westchester County. "but then I showed up at their first game as a spectator. The girls embraced me as if I had been there through preseason. Emotionally and physically, the girls asked me to be there and wanted me to be there. This made me realize that this was something I needed to do. I made my mind up and I was happy I did it.

In 2004, she is back on the sidelines.

"I realized that the girls helped me more than I helped them, by giving me something else to look forward to," she says. "They were understanding and not selfish. They focused everything on field hockey, let me do my thing, and didn't expect so much of me."

For last year's notes, click here.