Mid South field hockey wins opening-round game BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer The Middletown High School South field hockey team got by West Morris Mendham in the opening round of the NJSIAA North 2 Group III playoffs to advance to the second round for the first time under coach Sarah Boyce, now in her fourth season at the helm. Junior Megan Pierce scored the game's lone goal off a pass from Chelsea Keelen, and goalie Katie Johnson and the Eagles defense made it stand up for Middletown South's fourth shutout. The victory set up a rematch with VoorheeS. A year ago the Eagles were eliminated in the first round by Voorhees, so Boyce and her girls were looking to avenge that defeat. "Things seem to be coming together for us at the right time," the coach said. "At the beginning of the season we were playing excellent defense, but it kind of lagged for a while. The girls picked it up when we played Ocean, and they've been solid ever since." Overall, Middletown South is 10-5-3 and 6-3-1 in the Shore Conference's Class A North division, where the Eagles finished in third place behind Middletown North and Freehold Township, respectively. Boyce said her team was disappointed with its three ties, to Jackson, Howell and Manasquan and believes her team could have won at least two of those matches. "We let a few games get away from us, but overall the girls played well consistently," Boyce said. "In almost all of our big games, the defense has been superb." Middletown South's potent attack is led by Hickman, who has compiled 12 goals and seven assists to lead the team in both categories. Junior Katie Bruno has 11 goals and Jen Baccellieri, who does an excellent job moving the ball up the field, has six goals and six assists. Boyce also noted that her midfielders have quietly done a good job of controlling the ball and helping out the defense. Keelen, who is tied for the team lead with seven assists, Kathleen Pierce and the versatile Alyssa Quirk usually patrol the middle, though Boyce occasionally moves players around. Quirk has developed into an all-purpose player whom Boyce uses wherever the need arises. "Our midfielders have been excellent, but they're kind of overshadowed by our forwards who are just so aggressive that we end up scoring a lot on rebounds, so the midfielders don't get the assists, even though they may have set up the play," the coach added. Middletown South's record is similar to last year's 11-5-1 ledger, but Boyce noted that with most of the team back, this year's squad has the experience to better deal with close games and difficult situations. "They've been playing together for a while, and that's really been a big help," Boyce said. "Hopefully, that will keep us going in the state tournament."