By Jim Hintelmann
LAWRENCEVILLE – If there were any lingering doubts as which team is the best field hockey team in the Shore, Rumson-Fair Haven has put them to rest.
The team, which won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) NJSIAA Group II championship last Saturday, ignored the freezing cold and strong winds to rout Group I champion Shore Regional, 6-0, in a play-in game at the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.
As the fourth seed, Rumson played top-seeded and heavily favored Eastern Wednesday, after press time.
Junior Madison McGuire led the way Tuesday with four goals for the Lady Bulldogs, which had beaten Shore, 2-0, in the Shore Conference finals earlier this month.
Rumson won its first-ever Group II championship Saturday with a 3-2 win over Madison while Shore trimmed Collingswood, 3-1, for the Group I crown.
“We knew that we had to come out right away and set the tempo of the game,” said Rumson coach Julie Vaccarelli after the Madison game. “Madison was well coached and this was a big test for us.”
McGuire, who has already given a verbal commitment to the University of Maryland, scored two of Rumson’s goals, including what proved to be the game winner at 46:44. McGuire scored that goal off a penalty corner when Lily Croddick hit the ball to Maggie Jennings, who put the ball down, and McGuire scored from the top of the circle. That made it 3-1.
“This is great,” McGuire said.” I love it. We needed another goal and I made it.”
Madison cut the lead to 3-2, and had four penalty corner kicks in the final 1:40 of the game but couldn’t convert.
Madison’s best chance came when Caroline Turnball lined a shot from the top of the circle that Jennings blocked and cleared away to preserve the lead.
“At the end, they had a couple of penalty corners,” said Rumson goalie Anna Babiak, who had four saves in the game. “We had to stay composed and focused. I’m so proud of the team. We worked so hard all year for this.”
Peyton McCauley gave Rumson a 1-0 lead when she knocked in a deflected shot at 8:51, and McGuire scored her first goal 2 minutes later with a shot off a penalty corner to give Rumson a 2-0 lead.
Madison scored early in the second half to cut the lead to 2-1, and then came McGuire’s key second goal, which was the game-winner.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Vaccarelli said. “To win the Shore Conference was phenomenal and winning Group II was the best. These girls are so talented and worked so hard. They earned it.”
“This is amazing,” said Catie Ebner, one of the many defensive standouts in the game for Rumson. “We worked so hard since the summer. After four years, this is a great feeling.
“We knew that we would have a strong team,” Ebner said. “We never thought that we would put it all together and win Group II, but we did it.”
Winning Group I championships is nothing new for Shore, with Saturday’s 2-1 win over Collingswood being its 13th title. It was a first for new coach Kelly Koenig, who replaced the legendary Nancy Williams. Williams retired after 34 year as Shore field hockey coach.
Jessica Welch provided the game-winning goal with a shot off of a penalty corner that snapped a 1-1 tie with 12:51 left.
