Kingsbury guides Hopewell past WW-PN
HOPEWELL TWP. » Every team needs that leader, that go-to player to make plays and keep everyone on the same page.
Lauren Kingsbury is that player for Hopewell Valley.
Kingsbury led the Bulldogs to a thrilling 10-9 win over a vastly improved West Windsor-Plainsboro North squad in a Colonial Valley Conference game played HV’s chilly Ackerson Field on Wednesday afternoon.
The third straight win for Hopewell Valley (3-5) didn’t come easy as the Knights (52), who have now dropped two straight, rallied late and had a shot to tie the game in the final seconds.
It is also the fifth straight win over WW-P North as the last Knights win came in 2014.
“We had a rough patch in the beginning of the season,” said Kingsbury of Hopewell’s five straight losses to start the season. “Our chemistry has really come together and that has really shown on the field.”
Kingsbury, who is headed to Richmond in the fall, finished the game with seven goals and one assist. The Bulldogs got single goals from Lexie Banket, Maddie Schrader and Carly Sison. Sison and Adelinne Danieluk had assists.
Kingsbury now has 20 goals during Hopewell Valley’s three-game winning streak.
While Kingsbury helped the ‘Dawgs to a pair of threegoal leads in the second half North wasn’t going away.
“We fought hard, but it was a little too late,” said North coach Julia Giordano. ”We had some momentum shifts and we let them get up by three and that was too much of a lead. We have to learn to capitalize on the opportunities and Hopewell did a nice job of capitalizing on our mistakes.”
Despite a few mistakes, the Knights, who were led by Maria Tello with four goals, were right there at the end.
Michelle Marcus added three for North with Jill Pelosi and Samantha Richardson each getting one. Tello and Emma Lillywhite each had assists.
After Kingsbury made it 9-6 from long distance at the 14:15 mark of the second half, the Knights answered with a pair from Tello to make it 9-8 at the 8:53 mark.
Kingsbury responded with a great move splitting two defenders down the middle for a 10-8 lead with 6:22 left.
“We had to stay positive and stay smart,” said Kingsbury. “It came down just making a smart drive once it was there.”
After a couple turnovers hurt the Knights, they got a goal from Marcus with 19 seconds left to cut the margin to 10-9. Pelosi captured the ensuing draw and the Knights got a shot off with two seconds left, but HV’s Katee Kemether made the save.
“This was a huge win,” said Pam Edwards, the Hopewell Valley coach. “They are a very good team. We were able to put together two very strong halves. We ended up having that buffer goal and the clock became our friend.”
WW-PN (5-2) Hopewell (3-5) Goals —
Tello 4, Marcus 3, Pelosi, Richman (WWN). Kingsbury 7, Banket, Schrader, Sison (HV).
Tello, Lillywhite (WWN). Kingsbury, Danieluk (HV).
16 (WWN). 20 (HV).
Boal 5, Kunchapu 5 (WWN).
Assists — Shots — Saves —
Kemether 7 (HV).
5 4—9 7 3 — 10
LAWRENCEVILLE 8, MOORESTOWN 7 LAWRENCEVILLE » The Big Red rallied late and got a signature win for this group over perennial powerhouse Moorestown.
The Quakers (8-2) led late in the second half before Annabelle Albert tied the game at 7-7, then it was Olivia Koch getting the game winner.
Moorestown was going for the tying goal, but it was Lawrenceville’s Nico Sacchi running down a ground ball to preserve the win.
The Big Red are now 8-0 on the season.
“It was a great win,” said Lawrenceville coach Kris Schulte. “Everyone really played well.”
Koch led Lawrenceville with a hat trick, Albert added a pair of goals with Charlotte Albert, Kaeli Huesman and Meg Hillman all getting one. Huesman added an assist and Jeree Murray recorded 11 saves in the cage.