Raritan field hockey advances in Shore Conf. tourney
Rockets defeat Mid South, will play Shore Regional today
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
The Raritan High School field hockey team will visit Shore Regional this afternoon in a second-round game in the Shore Conference Tournament.

JEFF GRANIT staff Keyport's Laura Valencia (l) and Raritan's Lauren Thompson battle for the ball during their game on Oct. 15, which was won by Raritan, 3-0.

Coach Janet Citro's girls are coming off a 2-1 victory over Middletown South in the opening round. Francesca Maglione scored her team-leading 10th goal of the campaign, and junior varsity call-up Lauren Thomson netted the game-winner.

Overall the Rockets are 9-4-2, good for third place in the Shore's Class A Central division. Along the way, Raritan has lost a pair of close games to division champ Holmdel, including a 1-0 decision, and tied St. John Vianney twice.

As usual, the Rockets' defense has been solid, but this year's edition has been able to put the ball in the net as well.

"We have girls who can score from all

over the field, and that kind of balance has been a big help," the coach said. "Oppos ing teams can't just focus on one player, because so many of our girls can shoot well."

Maglione has been the go-to threat on offense, but forwards Stephanie Casciani and Dana Flanagan and midfielder Ally Alfonso have four goals apiece. Thomson has shown plenty of promise since joining the varsity four games ago. Flanagan has also contributed five assists, while Casciani has assisted on three goals.

In addition, midfielder Celeste Dayawon has done an excellent job of controlling the middle and moving the ball forward. Dayawon has a goal and four assists to her credit. Morgan Daley and Nicole Dougherty, Raritan's other starting midfielders, have each scored two times.

"Our offense really starts back with our defense," Citro said. "Our defenders do a good job in stopping opponents from scoring, but they also get the ball up field quickly. Once that happens, Celeste can control things and distribute the ball to our forwards. Right now the girls are making things happen. At the beginning of the season, most of our goals came off corners; now they're making the plays."

That defense is spearheaded by three juniors: Samantha Van Derveer, Ashley Mullen and Angela Terracciano. They have combined with another junior, goalkeeper Genevieve Paulin, to hold opponents scoreless on seven occasions. Although the Rockets ended up losing a 3-2 decision to Manasquan earlier in the season, Citro noted that her team was down 2-0 and fought its way back before bowing, despite having several chances in overtime.

"That was a tough game because we played it on grass and the girls had to adjust to that," the coach added. "Our girls kept coming at them, and that's how it's been all year. They won't quit no matter what happens."

Besides today's game, Raritan was slated to meet Red Bank Regional on Monday and will visit Jackson Liberty on Saturday. A victory over Shore would likely result in a second-round game on Friday.

While the immediate focus is on the Shore tourney, Raritan has also qualified for the NJSIAA North 2 Group II Tournament, which is scheduled to start on Oct. 31. Citro said her team is trying to pick up a nonconference game for early next week to remain in action. Seedings for the state tourney will be released following Wednesday's cut-off to qualify.