Holmdel field hockey looks to advance in SCT BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer The Holmdel High School field hockey team appears to be peaking at the right time as it enters the second round of the Shore Conference Tournament. Coach Karen Baldwin's Hornets have recorded a 4-0-4 mark since Sept. 14 and boast a defense that has yielded just five goals in 14 matches, a miniscule average of 0.35 goals against. Holmdel has also qualified for the NJSIAA North II Group II playoffs. The Hornets are coming off an impressive 3-0 victory over Toms River North in the opening round of the Shore tourney. Jenna Hormann, Ali Minich and Nicole Sepulveres scored to pace the offense, while sophomore goalkeeper Alex Diekman recorded her ninth shutout in net. Holmdel was slated to meet Toms River South in a second-round contest yesterday. After getting out of the gate at 3-3, Baldwin said her team turned it around thanks to its exceptional defensive. Fullbacks Owanate Briggs, Melissa Martorelli and sophomore Heather Katz share minutes on the backline, and their stellar play in front of Diekman has been a huge plus. "Our goaltending has been superb," Baldwin said, "but I don't look at defense or shutouts as just the goalie getting the job done. Our defenders are all workhorses; they just get the job done. It's the defense and the entire team as well. The fact that we've only permitted five goals is because of a teamwide commitment to playing defense." A solid group of midfielders, that includes Nicole Sepulveres, has proven invaluable defensively. Baldwin moved Sepulveres from forward to the middle, and the senior has responded with six goals and six assists while playing a responsible two-way game. Elise Luccarelli and junior Kristen Davila line up in the middle as well. "The three girls we use in the middle have been consistent game in and game out," Baldwin said. "All three of them get on the ball quickly and they are good at getting the ball from the defense up to the forwards when we transition to offense." While the Hornets don't often substitute in the middle and backfield, Baldwin does employ several forwards. Sophomore Jenna Hormann has five goals, freshman Ali Minich has four tallies to her credit and Jillian Katz and sophomore Jill Sadowski have scored three times apiece. Jillian Katz has also posted five assists. Two juniors, Kay Gonzalez and Kristin Gagliardi provide depth off the bench. With the exception of her team's three losses, which were bunched together, to Shore Regional, St. John Vianney and RBC, her team has pretty much kept its focus. "They all work hard and that helped us get through the rough patch we had early on," Baldwin added. "We kind off took five steps back, but since then they've taken 10 steps forward. Overall, I'm very pleased because they're getting better with each game. Right now they're just hitting their stride."