By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
WEST DEPTFORD — It’s not often you get to have your home opener six weeks into the season in October, but that’s exactly where the West Deptford field hockey team found itself on Monday.
The Eagles’ field was unplayable after the defending Group 1 state champions wore it out throughout the summer, forcing coach Courtney Stetson’s squad to play all 11 of their previous games offsite. The other “home” games this season were played at Sterling and Deptford while the field was being rehabilitated.
It doesn’t really matter where the Eagles play, though, because the outcome is often the same — an Eagles victory.
That once again held true on Monday as West Deptford extended its winning streak to five games with a 2-0 victory over Northern Burlington.
“They have a great record,” coach Stetson said. “We’ve had our struggles lately scoring goals, so it was nice to get a goal early and get the shutout. That’s something we’ve been talking about a lot.”
“It makes them adaptable,” she continued, speaking of not having a true home game up until this point. “It doesn’t make them feel like home-field advantage has to be a thing. We have to be able to play wherever we do. As we get into the playoffs and have to play other teams, it’s not something we won’t be comfortable doing.”
West Deptford improved to 9-3, edging a streaking Northern Burlington (10-2-1, 6-0-1 Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty)behind a second-quarter strike from Zoey Gibbons.
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Playing with a little extra motivation, the junior leads the team with 14 goals so far this season. Zoey’s twin sister, Isabella, tore her ACL just three weeks into the season.
“My mom always says that I have to score, obviously, but I also have to score for myself and (Isabella’s) goals as well,” said Zoey.
Gibbons admitted, though, it was difficult adjusting from primarily playing on turf up until this point to back on grass Monday.
“It’s definitely hard because a lot of our games have been on turf. We just started practicing here and we’ve worked on getting our passing down and being able to get shots on goal,” she said. “I think we did a good job passing and getting the ball out.”
Said coach Stetson, “Zoey has a great eye for the goal cage. She scores a lot of goals for us. She’s not afraid of anything. She’s very threatening and that’s a good thing for us in the circle.”
Senior Abigial Craig added an insurance goal in the third quarter for West Deptford (9-3, 3-1 Colonial Liberty).
Perhaps the best thing about being back on their home field for the Eagles is the fan support they receive at each game. A crowded section of fans cheered along the far sideline in full support as West Deptford hopes to make yet another title run.
“We’re really happy to be back and it’s really putting a boost in our atmosphere,” senior Emerson Goldberg said. “We’re all excited to be back on our home field, especially the seniors. It shows how appreciated our team is in West Deptford for being back-to-back state champs, and we have a lot of support.”
Another state championship would mean three in a row for the Eagles’ faithful — but it won’t be easy. Group 1 state finalist Shore moved to the South Jersey bracket, and the Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 6 in the state by NJ Advance Media with a 12-1 record.
“We know what comes at the end,” coach Stetson said. “We know we have targets on our back, obviously. Shore Regional being moved to South Jersey is definitely going to be a change for us. They’re playing exceptionally well. It will be tough, we know that — but we’re excited about the challenge. We’re ready for it.”
Despite the loss, Northern Burlington coach Danielle Andreula believes there are positives to take away from the Greyhounds’ play.
“This is one of the harder teams that we’ll play on our schedule,” Andreula said. “It was nice to come out here and see how our girls play against some tougher competition. I was pretty happy with how it turned out even though it was a loss. It’s a loss we can definitely learn from and grow from. We can take positives from it, for sure.”
Click this link to watch the new ‘Sideline Snippets’ series, where correspondent Brian Tortella hands a Go-Pro video camera stick to players after the game and they talk about the victory:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA1vOJrRCCM/?igsh=MW14eXNneGtneGthMw==
Contact Brian Tortella: btortreportssj@gmail.com
