By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
BORDENTOWN — Erin Bernat stepped into the head coaching position of the Kingsway Regional High field hockey program in the midst of a dynasty.
That may sound like an easy task — but this season was far from a stroll in the park.
After the program graduated numerous NCAA Division I recruits, Bernat was tasked with the lofty expectation of leading the team back to the promised land.
It was certainly easier said than done.
However, just two months removed from an 0-6 start, Kingsway won its fourth straight Group 4 state title with a 4-1 triumph over Phillipsburg on Saturday at Bordentown High School. The Dragons are the sixth team in state history to win at least four consecutive state championships.
“It’s all for the kids. I love teaching, number one. I also love coaching. Everything I do, I do for the kids,” said Bernat, a 2009 Glassboro High and 2013 Rowan University graduate. “And that’s my mindset. I stepped into this position because I love these kids. I’m just so grateful to be able to coach a high-caliber team like this. I was at (other schools) and coming to Kingsway was like, ‘holy crap.’ Coming here every day, I said, ‘wow, these kids are so good.’ I’m so grateful to continue to coach these kids every day.”
If you looked at the Dragons’ record for much of the season, a blind eye wouldn’t be able to tell how “good” Kingsway truly is and has been.
Kingsway played what was arguably the toughest schedule in the state. Three-time defending state champion Clearview (twice), two-time defending state champion Oak Knoll, seven-time defending state champion West Essex, as well as several other out-of-state national powers.
The result? A 7-11 record entering the state tournament.
But that didn’t matter. To them, the postseason was a new season.
“There was a moment where I said, ‘how am I going to turn this around?,” Bernat recalled. “It was mindset. I’m going to turn it around with their mindset. Our schedule was the toughest around. I don’t care what anyone says, our schedule was tough. And that was what prepared us for this moment. Every team here in states, we played. We may not have won, but we learned from every one of those losses. Where here, we just let it all out. That’s why playoffs were a whole new season for us.”
Once the playoffs started, Kingsway’s mindset completely shifted. The team finally believed it had what it took to silence the doubters and end its season at a place it had become familiar with by mid-November in each of the last four years — the beautiful turf at Bordentown.
“Everyone doubted us at the beginning of the season,” said junior Rutgers commit Reese Samra, who scored the first two goals for the Dragons after Kingsway fell behind 1-0 in the first quarter. “They thought we couldn’t top what we were last season and the previous seasons in general. It feels great to prove everyone wrong. We are a four-time state championship-winning team.
“We went through a rough patch at the beginning of the season, where I was just doubting. I definitely thought we could make it far, but I didn’t know if we could win states. Once we entered the playoffs, I believed 100 percent in us. I knew we had it. It felt great.”
Trailing by a score early in the opening quarter wasn’t abnormal for Kingsway. All the Dragons needed was a goal of their own. Once Samra scored, the rest is history.
“That’s really all we need for a team like us,” Samra said. “Get a few foals under our belt and push off from there. Once I got the first goal, that’s all it really takes for us to get going. I knew once I got that first goal in, we had it. This team is very young. With the team we have now, we can 100 percent get here again.”
For Bernat, it was several years worth of hard work that led to this moment.
From growing up playing for a small Group 1 school at Glassboro to coaching there and at Gloucester, those were only stepping stones for bigger things to come — leading the Garden State’s new dynasty.
And she’s a big part in keeping it alive.
“All the hard work, all the tears, all the planning. I’m crying because I’m so proud of the kids. I’ve worked so hard for this all my life. From playing to coaching.”
