Holmdel field hockey falls in group final
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above: Holmdel's Kay Gonzalez (13) disrupts Wall's Bre Medford (6) during the NJSIAA Group III field hockey state championship game on Nov. 16. Below: Holmdel's Allyson Mnich (23) and Murphy Sieg (1) try to score against Wall. Holmdel ended up losing, 1-0.

After setting a new team record for wins, the Holmdel High School field hockey team fell on Sunday to Wall, 1-0, in the finals of the NJSIAA Group III tournament.

Nevertheless, the Hornets had a brilliant season — and with eight starters back for next year, more team records may be on the horizon.

Holmdel was 16-2-3 overall and winners of the Shore Conference's Class A Central division for the second successive season. Coach Karen Baldwin's team also picked up its second straight North Jersey Section 2 Group III crown last week with a huge 1- 0 victory over Freehold Township.

That propelled the Hornets into the overall Group III tourney, where they faced off against Wayne Hills (16-4-1) on Wednesday. Once again, Holmdel midfielder Kristen Davila set the tone by converting a penalty stroke less than 10 minutes into the match.

Grasping the momentum, Baldwin's team doubled its lead shortly thereafter when Kristen Gagliardi scored off a penalty corner. Gagliardi, who came out flying, previously drew the foul that led to Davila's goal.

Davila scored an insurance goal, her fifth tally of the tourney, to put the game out of reach.

That set up Sunday's game against Wall. The first half was tightly contested and played mostly in the middle of the field. It ended in a scoreless tie. After the break, Wall's Jennifer Balka scored eight minutes in, and she and her teammates held off Holmdel the rest of the way.

"The first goal is so important, but when Wall scored, I looked at the clock and thought, We still have 22 minutes left," Baldwin said. "There weren't a lot of scoring chances in this game, but we did have a few and weren't able to convert them. Wall's defense was outstanding, too. Whenever we got the ball deep, they were able to get it out of there quickly."

The loss was certainly disappointing for the resurgent Holmdel program, but Baldwin said the team needs to look back at its accomplishments.

"Once the disappointment passes, I think the girls will realize that what they've accomplished in the last two years transcends this loss," the coach said. "We wanted to truly establish one of the best field hockey programs in the Shore, and we're well on our way to doing that. This team has won back-to-back division titles and back-toback sectional championships. They have a lot to be proud of."

The Hornets will certainly miss Davila, who posted 10 goals and 25 assists, as well as fellow seniors Kay Gonzalez and Gagliardi. The rest of the starting lineup will be intact

"The girls have set the bar high, so we're looking to be back [in the Group III finals] next year," Baldwin said.