By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
CHERRY HILL — Looking at the Olympic Conference field hockey standings and seeing Camden Catholic in third place behind Bishop Eustace and Seneca is a bit odd, especially in late October. The Irish are the New York Yankees of South Jersey field hockey — the standard by which most other teams compare themselves to.
The Irish came into Sunday’s championship game of the South Jersey Tournament of Champions — a new in-season tournament this year that aims to gather some of the best squads in the seven-county South Jersey region for one competition to see who’s best — with five losses on their resume. This is a team that rarely loses more than two or three games in a season, despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the state every year.
So, after going 2-2 in their last four games, the Irish were looking to make a statement against Clearview, last year’s Group 3 state champion.
Camden Catholic did just that, getting a pair of goals in the second quarter to post a 2-0 win over the Pioneers and capture the title in the tournament’s inaugural run.
“It was so important. We’ve been practicing really hard all week, and we really emphasized the importance of being gritty, having high intensity and being an overall hardworking team. I thought, honestly, tonight we did a great job of working hard, being gritty inside the circle — this win was really important to us,” said senior midfielder Savannah Freeland. “They are a really good team, and we knew that coming in. We don’t take anyone lightly. But as the game went on, we really focused on winning the 50/50 balls and really just being a hard working team. Every quarter, we talked about working harder than we did in the last one. And we continued that throughout the game.”
Freeland set up the game’s first goal with a strong drive into the circle that resulted in a penalty stroke. Fellow senior Lauren Iaccio took the stroke and just beat Clearview goalie Marissa Buck — one of the best goalies in the state — on a shot into the lower right corner of the cage. Then, Camden Catholic (11-5, 3-1 Olympic National) increased it’s lead to 2-0 with less than 30 seconds remaining before halftime when Katherine Gillern scored off a corner assist from Casey Capriotti.
“The first goal was really important to set the tone, but it’s not just about goals — we just wanted to come out, play really hard and just play our game. I thought we did that tonight,” said Freeland, a Mt. Laurel resident.
Camden Catholic — a top-10 team in the state, as is Clearview — was just as good on the defensive side, as senior goalie Madelyn LaForm spearheaded the shutout against a team that has scored five or more goals in nine of its 17 games this season. She made a brilliant save in the second quarter, leaping to her left on a rebound after her initial save to thwart a wide-open shot by Clearview (14-3, 6-0 Tri-County Royal).
“I made a bad clear on a rebound, so I knew I had to make a decision fast. When I saw the girl lining up (for a wide-open shot), I knew I had to get back up on my feet. It was the right decision at the right time, and I was just fast enough to get it. It felt awesome (to make that save),” said LaForm, a Cherry Hill native. “My mindset was to just keep everything in front of me, keep everything out (of the cage) and just focus on one quarter at a time. I’m really good friends with the other goalie, and she’s really good, so it was bittersweet winning this game.”
Camden Catholic has five more games to get ready for the state playoffs, including a big road game at West Essex to close out the regular season on Nov. 1. Freeland and LaForm said they believe the Irish might be starting to play their best hockey of the season at just the right time.
“We’re working toward being the top seed (in the state playoffs) again,” Freeland said. “I know we’re still one of the best teams in New Jersey, and we’re going to keep working hard until we get to states.”
Added LaForm, “I feel like we’re in a great position right now. We’ve come together a lot in the last week or so. I think we just need to focus on just supporting one another and being gritty.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Camden Catholic hosts Cherry Hill West on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Clearview travels to Washington Township on Monday at 4 p.m.
