Kittatinny loses state tournament semifinal
NEWTON. Girls soccer team falls to Mountain Lakes, 4-0, in the NJSIAA Group 1 tournament.
Newton /
| 19 Nov 2024 | 06:10
Kittatinny's Eleanor Deckert controls the ball as Cresskill's Ariel Alejo tries to keep pace in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament Monday, Nov. 11. The Cougars won, 3-0, and Deckert scored one goal. (Photos by George Leroy Hunter)
Kittatinny's Sienna Templeton (13) battles Cresskill's Rita Reznik and Ella Dimitriadis for control of the ball. Templetom scored one goal and made two assists.
Kittatinny's Katie Sajdak is about to kick the ball.
Cresskill's Ana Gonzalez Eusevi and Kittatinny's Reese Redden challenge each other for control of the ball.
Kittatinny's Taylor Hough scored one goal.
Kittatinny's Erica Bode scans the soccer field.
The victorious Kittatinny Cougars and support staff pose for a portrait.
The Kittatinny Regional High School girls soccer team made history once again this fall.
Senior Sienna Templeton corralled a corner kick from Eleanor Deckert and scored the only goal of the game with slightly less than two minutes remaining in overtime to lift the top-seeded Cougars to a 1-0 victory over sixth-seeded Indian Hills in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament final Thursday afternoon, Nov. 14 at home.
The sectional championship is the first in the history of the program.
Less than a month ago, the team won its first Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament crown when it downed Sparta in penalty kicks Oct. 19.
Kittatinny (16-3-2), under the direction of head coach Jeanette Spooner, lost to Mountain Lakes, 4-0, in a NJSIAA Group 1 semifinal Monday, Nov. 18.
Mountain Lakes (20-3), which won the Group 1 title the previous two years, will play Haddon Township (15-6-2) in the Group 1 final Saturday, Nov. 23.
In the sectional final Nov. 14, senior goalie Brooke Ginsberg made 13 saves against Indian Hills to post her 11th shutout of the season and third in the post-season.
Ginsberg made 11 saves as Kittatinny shut out fourth-seeded Cresskill, 4-0, in a sectional semifinal Monday, Nov. 11 at home.
Templeton, who leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and nine assists, scored one goal and two assists to key that win. Deckert and Taylor Hough also scored and Lola Brand added an assist in the decision.
Here’s how other Kittatinny teams fared recently:
Boys soccer
Kittatinny, the 10th seed, dropped a 4-0 decision to seventh-seeded Saddle Brook in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament there Nov. 5.
Joseph Ginsberg, who had eight shutouts this fall, made 12 saves in the loss for the Cougars (8-7-2).
Austin Bosworth (six goals, one assist), Dominic Vespucci (three goals, five assists), Quinn Wydner (two goals, six assists) and Alexander Yanaga (three goals, two assists) led the offense.
Field hockey
Raeleigh Dippel scored off a feed from Lauren White in the fourth period to erase a one-goal deficit, but the 10th-seeded Cougars bowed in overtime to seventh-seeded Boonton, 2-1, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 1 tournament there Nov. 4.
Kittatinny, which finished the season at 10-10, was led offensively by Dippel (eight goals, two assists), Gianna Caruso (seven goals, four assists), Samantha Ruitenberg (four goals, six assists), Maila Watley-Gonzalez (two goals, four assists) and Lauren White (one goal, six assists).
Kylie Trilling recorded six shutouts this fall.
Cross country
Joe Holdt placed 62nd with a time of 20:29 and Enrico Brex was right behind in 63rd place with a time of 20:31 to pace the Kittatinny boys team at the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 championships on Nov. 2 at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park.
Other boys place-winners were Lucas Oakes (94th place in 22:04), David Perez (95th in 22:12), Enzo Lombardo (100th in 22:21) and Zachary Oakes (123rd in 26:23).
Adelyn McGill was the lone girl competitor for Kittatinny, clocking a time of 25:13, good for 42nd place.