FIVE TEAMS TO SEE
Rumson-Fair Haven: The Bulldogs have dominated the Shore Conference, winning the last four SCT titles and also capturing their second Group 2 state title in program history. They graduated a lot of talent off last year’s squad, including Lily Croddick, who capped off her remarkable career with 160 goals and 54 assists, and takes on her next challenge playing at Stanford University. But until someone is able to knock off the Bulldogs, they remain the top threat in the Shore Conference.
Southern: Southern finished last season second in the Shore Conference and third in Group 4 with a 21-3 record. They also return Emma Wilhelm, who was named A South Player of the Year by NJ Advance Media. The Rams graduated four seniors from a year ago, but still figure to be a force in both Ocean County and the Shore Conference, where they fell to Rumson in the final.
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Shore Regional: The Blue Devils finished third in the Shore Conference with a 19-3 record and earned the No. 2 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament last year, where they fell to No. 3 Southern in the semifinals. They graduated three key seniors off their roster, but have Maggie Lamb and Lily Santi returning as a senior and junior, respectively.
Colts Neck: The Cougars had a year to remember a season ago, finishing 17-2-1 and earning the No. 4 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament. They graduated four seniors off last year’s roster, including A North Player of the Year Madison Bellows, but it will be interesting to see how they follow up last year’s success.
Freehold Township: The Patriots are coming off a season where they earned the No. 5 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinal round, where they lost a heartbreaking 1-0 game to Manasquan. They finished 2017 ranked sixth in the Shore Conference with a record of 14-5-2, and will return one of the Shore’s top players in Julia Ericksen for her senior campaign.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bridy Molyneaux, Rumson-Fair Haven: While Rumson graduated five key players this spring, they still return a pair of dynamic seniors led by Molyneaux, who found the net 14 times as a junior to go with 11 assists. She had a pair of two goal games against Saint John Vianney and Matawan and tallied two assists four times, against Raritan, Matawan, Pinelands, and Hackettstown. She has 61 goals and 39 assists in her three-year varsity career and will look to add to those totals as a senior.
Maitland Demand, Southern: In her first year as a varsity starter, Demand made an immediate impact as a sophomore, scoring 20 goals while piling up 18 assists. She scored a hat trick against Oakcrest and scored four goals against Brick Memorial, who she also tallied a trio of assists against later in the season. On a Southern team that graduated four key players, Demand will see her role increase as a junior, and she seems to be up for the task.
Maggie Lamb, Shore Regional: Lamb continued her remarkable varsity field hockey career as a junior by scoring 27 goals and tallying 26 assists. She had an impressive five hat tricks last season, coming against Ranney (twice), St. Rose, Mater Dei, and Point Boro. It will be up to Lamb to take the reins from last year’s graduating class and step up as a senior leader for the Blue Devils. Lamb has 53 goals and 62 assists in her three-year varsity career.
Julia Eriksen, Freehold Township: Eriksen shined as a junior, scoring 22 goals for the Patriots as one of their top offensive threats. She started the season with a hat trick against Saint John Vianney and ended the season with a four-goal game against Monroe. She has 40 goals and 11 assists in her two-year varsity career. With three varsity starters graduating, Eriksen will become one of the team’s leaders this season as a senior.
Julianne Kopec, Red Bank Catholic: One of the top freshman in the state a season ago, Kopec made an excellent first impression for the Caseys. She tallied 15 goals and added nine assists. She scored a hat trick in her second career game against St. Rose and followed that up with a two-goal, two-assist game against Ocean Township. Kopec also scored two goals against Middletown South and fellow parochial power Saint John Vianney. With three years still to go, the sky is the limit as to what Kopec can accomplish.
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