On October 17th, West Morris Central field hockey had their first victory in the county tournament over Jefferson, the 15th seed. West Morris was seeded second out of 16 teams in the county tournament bracket. The team entered the tournament ranked 20th in the state. West Morris shut out Jefferson 3-0. The team then advanced to the quarter final round on october 23rd facing the seventh seed, Boonton. The Pack got the victory once again, 2-0. West Morris field hockey is now ranked 18th in the state. They are in first place in the NJAC American division and fourth overall in the NJAC conference. The Pack will advance to the semi-final round this Saturday against the number three seed, Chatham.
Looking at the other side of the bracket, Mount Olive, the fifth seed, won against Mountain Lakes, the fourth seed. If the Pack wins against Chatham, they will face the winner of Madison, the number one seed, versus Mount Olive.
West Morris lost 0-5 against Madison during the regular season. According to Madison Candura, a sophomore midfielder, they have made significant improvements since the Madison game. West Morris now knows what to expect and what they should work on prior to this game in practice. “We’re gonna continue to just play our game. That’s our slogan.” Candura said. A junior defenseman, Sophia Guzman, believes their determination and desire to improve their skills will put them over Madison. ¨Before every game we talk about how we’re going to perform better than the last game and what we can improve on,” Guzman says. West Morris’ potent, scoring offense has put the team ahead this year in their conference.
However, both Guzman and Candura agree they should start with the first challenge; beating Chatham on Saturday. In the third game for Chatham, we will “play aggressively and score first” according to Guzman. She also mentioned it’s important they complete passes and don´t turn over the ball. “Passing is very important,” said Guzman. Candura says, “we have been practicing every day, non stop, practicing the way Chatham is going to play against us.” She believes it is important to practice hard physically but also to prepare for the game mentally and not stress about the game. ¨It’s important for the girls to trust their practice and training as they continue to advance through counties,¨ she states. “Play our game” is a slogan that will follow these girls as they continue to advance and have success. They know what they can do and are ready to deliver in playoffs!
