Sports
Moorestown Field Hockey’s Magical Run Comes to an End
Moorestown's field hockey coach praises her squad as the team ends its season with a 5-1 loss to Freehold Borough.
Moorestown field hockey plays one of the toughest schedules in South Jersey each season and the tough schedule paid off as the Quakers advanced to the Group 3 State Championship game on Sunday at Toms River East against Freehold Borough. The Quakers fell by a score of 5-1, ending their magical run in the playoffs.
“We had a lot of ups and downs, but I can say that this is the team I’ve seen the most growth in since I’ve been coaching,” head coach Ali Collins said. “We played a tough schedule this year.
"We’ve had tough opponents and every single test that we went against in Eastern, Washington Township, Shawnee, Haddonfield and Wall, every game we improved and every game we learned from.”
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The game was scoreless through the majority of the first half, with Freehold dominating play, until Lauren Bock found the back of the cage to give the Colonials a 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish. The assist went to Emily Wold.
“After coming off a win versus Wall, which was a huge upset for us, and beating Kingsway, we were really pumped and we just wanted to give it our all. We were really stoked to be here,” Paige Macrae said.
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The score didn't budge for the remainder of the first half as the Quakers trailed 1-0 at half time. The Colonials built a 2-0 lead less than seven minutes into the second half when Wold scored her first goal of the game. Only 42 seconds later, Wold struck again, making it 3-0 Freehold and all but ending Moorestown’s (15-6-1) season.
“We’ve come so far this year and we’ve really come together as a team. It showed these past few playoff games how close and how strong we’ve become and today obviously, it wasn’t the outcome we wanted. Everyone gave it their all and no one let up and that’s all I could ask for,” Macrae said.
Moorestown was able to break the shutout when Jess Dadino knocked a rebound into the cage with 4:40 remaining in the game. Freehold (22-1) scored twice more before the final whistle with goals from Haley Meade and Wold, who recorded a hat trick. Wold’s final goal came with one minute remaining in the contest.
“I’m so proud that we could be here to compete against a champion like them,” Collins said.
The Quakers finish the 2011 season with a 15-6-1 record, a South, Group 3 Championship and as the Group 3 State runners-up to the Colonials.
