By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
MEDFORD — The Shawnee High field hockey team had every motivation to beat Clearview Regional in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. The Pioneers had ended Shawnee’s season the past two years — including beating the Renegades 2-1 in last year’s sectional final.
Clearview went on to win the state championship four days later, outlasting North Hunterdon, 3-2.
As Pioneers senior back Makenzie Dutch put it, ‘they were out for blood.’
And for 54 minutes on Wednesday afternoon it looked as though the Renegades would have their long-sought revenge. But then all hell broke loose in the final six minutes of the game.
The teams traded haymakers, like two boxers trying to impress the judges in the final round, before Alaina Lomonaco tapped in a shot in front of the cage with 45 seconds left in the first overtime period to give Clearview a dramatic 3-2 win, sending the Pioneers to the state championship while leaving the Renegades crushed on the turf field in Medford.
In field hockey, overtime consists of 7-on-7 instead of the traditional 11 players per side, meaning each team would have to cover a lot of open ground on tired legs. There were ebbs and flows throughout the extra period as each team tried to muster the strength to mount an offensive threat. Finally, Clearview made a run down the right side with forward Marley Dutch, and the Pioneers’ leading scorer, Lomonaco, was there to slip a shot past the diving Brenna Fitzpatrick — a senior with 220-plus saves in her career and one of the top goalies in South Jersey.
“We knew it was do-or-die and we all wanted it so badly. I saw Marley going down with the ball so I sprinted as hard as I could to make sure I was there for her. She was putting in all that work so I wasn’t going to let that go to waste,” Lomonaco said. “And I had just gotten hit in the knee, so I was working so hard to get up the field. I got up there, pulled the goalie, and was able to finish. She’s a very strong goalie. I know her because we used to play club together, so I know she’s aggressive and quick, so you really have to be smart and place the ball.
“We really turned it on in the fourth quarter and we turned and looked at each other and said, ‘this is it, we don’t have any other opportunities, we have to finish here.’ And we did it, we put in that work and we scored.”
Third-seeded Shawnee (17-4-1, 5-0 Olympic American) got an early goal from star forward Abby Davidson, her 46th of the season, and the Renegades held that 1-0 lead for much of the game.
“They have that great forward, Abby — but all of their forwards are strong,” Makenzie Dutch said. “We knew coming into this game that we would have to hone in and make sure that, especially Abby, we would have to take her out of the game. She’s insanely good. She’s great competition to prepare us for the state final. We knew we always had to have an eye on her and couldn’t let her receive the ball. The communication (between the defense) was the key.”
No. 4 seed Clearview (17-4-1, 4-3-1 Tri-County Royal) knotted the score, 1-1, with 5:32 left in regulation when Ella Gandy fed Lomonaco, and that touched off a wild finish to regulation. The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead less than two minutes later on a goal by Marley Dutch off a counter attack, but Shawnee somehow sent the game into overtime by scoring on its second untimed corner to end regulation. Charlotte Coskery rattled the back of the cage with triple zeroes on the clock, tying the game at 2 and setting up the dramatic overtime period.
“After that first goal we scored and they called a timeout, we knew we had the momentum. We knew we had to play strong and finish, and we did that. (Shawnee scoring) was a hard thing to recover from, but we know in that situation you have to dig deep and it all has to come from your heart. We knew we wanted it. We wanted to make it back to the state final,” Makenzie Dutch said. “We knew we really needed to keep our intensity high. We knew they were coming for us, and we just had to push harder. We have such great team chemistry and we know how to hold each other accountable.”
“We had to make it exciting, I guess. But this is what it’s about. We enjoy the adrenaline and the thrill. The end result was obviously what we wanted,” said Clearview coach Britney Ewan. “This says a lot about their character. We’re always striving for little ways to improve our game, but ultimately, when you are at a level like this, it comes down to heart, passion and determination. Not just playing for yourself, but playing for your teammate, playing for your school, and these girls have that. They will never give up. That’s something that’s not a teachable aspect of the game. They’ll keep going until they fall over, and that showed today.
“They were gunning for us, and we knew that. That was part of our preparation. There were just little parts of the game that we had to make adjustments to according to what we thought they were going to do, and we made those adjustments beautifully.”
Clearview’s goalie, Marissa Buck, a junior, was just as good as Fitzpatrick, notching 12 saves — the 10th time this season she’s been in double digits.
“Having a good goalie can make or break you as a team, and Marissa is just lights out,” Ewan said. “She’s a very special kid. The talent she has and the ability to see the game and see the play unfold, and know where she needs to be — she’s the whole package. And (Fitzpatrick) made some great saves down at the other end. It was just an evenly matched game; it just comes down to that last grit, that last push and who has something left in the tank. Thankfully, it was us.”
Clearview advances to Saturday’s state championship at Bordentown High, where the Pioneers will take on North Jersey Group 3 champion Northern Highlands, the No. 10 ranked team in the state. Clearview is currently ranked No. 14.
“The majority of our girls are returning from last year. We lost three senior starters but we had another senior (this year) step in and a couple of freshmen, and they’ve done so beautifully all season. And the players who are the veterans really took them under their wings and got them to understand how our game is played and how we do things,” Ewan said. “To see everything they’ve worked for and what they stand for — to be able to come out on top is a great feeling. It was a great game, Shawnee is a great team and they played a great game. It could have gone either way.”
Said Lomonaco, “coming off this game is huge, getting to the state final is tough and everybody is so good at this level. Having this to prepare us (for Saturday), and knowing how much work we have to put in, really helps a lot. We’re looking forward to it.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Group 3 state championship, Clearview Regional vs. Northern Highlands at Bordentown High, time TBD. Shawnee’s season is complete.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
