South Jersey Group 2 Champions
Game Summaries & Headlines.
Katie Pileggi scores six goals to lead Haddonfield into the South Jersey, Group 2 semifinals
7.0 years ago @ 4:00PM | Brian Deakyne | For NJ Advance Media
RED BANK – It took Haddonfield 11 seconds to take the lead in Monday's state tournament game against Red Bank Catholic, and the Bulldawgs never had any intention of giving it up.
After traveling an hour north to face fourth-seeded Red Bank Catholic, fifth-seeded Haddonfield put its depth and scoring ability on display in a 13-8 win in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA/Investors Bank South Jersey, Group 2 state tournament.
Fueled by six goals from Katie Pileggi, Haddonfield advanced to the semifinals where it will face top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven, No. 7 in the NJ.com Top 20, on Thursday.
"That's what we kind of said, let's play the game at our pace," Haddonfield coach Jessica Blake said about playing ahead the entire game. "We wanted to come out, we wanted to let them know that we were here to play. That was key and they didn't let up. That was really big for us."
Jaimie McCormick won the opening draw and scored 11 seconds into the game to give Haddonfield the quick lead that it never relinquished.
The Bulldawgs took a two goal lead into halftime at 5-3 but found the back of the net eight times in the second half to nullify any thoughts of a rally from Red Bank Catholic.
"That's a thing we've had to work on throughout the whole season, and this is the time to really show it," Pileggi said of closing out games. "We worked on it day after day and hours of practice and we really showed it today."
Farrington's three goals led Red Bank Catholic, which finished off the 2016 season with a 16-5 record. Mackenzie Boyle scored twice and Cameron Lynch had one goal and one assist in the loss. Erika Recanzone and Lizzy Small each scored once, but the Caseys were never to find an offensive flow to keep pace with Haddonfield.
Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njschoolsports.com