Top seven seeds all reach quarterfinals in MCT
The seeds in the Mercer County Tournament have held true, and it sets up some interesting quarterfinal games on Tuesday.
Seeds one through seven all survived first-round games, and in the always competitive 8/9 game it was No. 9 Stuart edging No. 8 Lawrence.
Here is a look at the four quarterfinal games.
No. 9 Stuart (9-3) at No. 1 Lawrenceville (9-3), 4:15 p.m.
The Big Red have dominated the Mercer County Tournament and they look like they aren’t ready to give up their reign easily.
They are the two-time defending champion and have won six of the last seven.
Stuart brings along a little of its own tradition as it was in seven MCT finals, winning three from 2002 to 2008. It might not be this year, but you can see those days returning at Stuart.
Lawrenceville comes into the game having won five straight games, and in the streak they have outscored the opposition 23-1.
Meg Hillman leads the Big Red with 11 goals and nine assists. Meg Barnes has nine goals and five assists.
The Tartans have only lost to Prep A top-seed Blair, Country Day of the Sacred Heart and Princeton Day — all very good teams.
Catherine Martin leads with 15 goals and Caroline Mullen has seven goals and five assists.
Stuart’s defense can make it interesting, but the balance of Lawrenceville is going to be tough to overcome.
No. 7 Allentown (8-5) at No. 2 Princeton (13-0), 4 p.m.
The Little Tigers have been very impressive right from the start this season and are a team that can win a game by five goals if necessary and one that just as easily takes a onegoal win.
They are solid up and down the field, Mariana Lopez-Ona leads with 19 goals, Isabel Kinney has caged 14 and added five assists, and the defense led by Lila Doran and Grace Cooke (goalie) is one of the best.
Princeton has allowed just eight goals in 13 games and has registered eight shutouts.
The Tigers won the first meeting with Allentown, 2-1.
The Redbirds are young and dangerous. They have won seven of the last eight and of the five losses three have been by one goal.
Kennedy Munster has been one of the senior leaders and has caged 13 and assisted on six for the Redbirds. Morgan Vaccaro has a team-high 10 assists.
These are two of the perennial division, MCT and state title contenders and this one will play out like a final game instead of a quarterfinal matchup.
No. 6 Hopewell Valley (11-41) at No. 3 Princeton Day (8-3), 4 p.m.
The Panthers opened the season with a 4-3 win over the Bulldogs and coming into this meeting they are playing very well, having won four of the last five.
PDS has lost to Blair (11-1), Hill (9-2) and Lawrenceville (93) — all field hockey powers this season.
Val Radvany leads PDS with 10 goals and seven assists, Sasha Sindhwani has nine goals and four assists and Lexi Hausheer has been solid in the cage for the Panthers.
Hopewell Valley has a modest two-game winning streak and will be looking to avenge that one-goal loss early in the season.
Kelsey Fithen, who has been one of the county’s most consistent players throughout her career, leads the Bulldogs with 11 goals and 10 assists. Bella DiNardo has 11 goals and five assists.
PDS has a lot of firepower as does Hopewell Valley, and it could be a shootout with the defense determining the winner.
No. 5 Notre Dame (10-3) at No. 4 Robbinsville (9-1), 4 p.m.
The Ravens are one of the hottest teams around having won eight straight since an early season one-goal setback to Princeton.
Over the eight games Robbinsville has scored 33 goals and allowed a meager five.
Shea Walsh, who is one of the prolific scorers in the state, leads with 21 goals. She has shown to be a player that can carry a team when it’s needed.
Karina Bharatiya has six goals along with Grace Maslak and Amanda Allen, a tough midfielder, has a team-best four assists.
The Irish started the season with seven straight wins and have only lost to Hopewell Valley, Princeton and Lenape — all very talented teams.
Notre Dame has Cate Buecker, who is very dangerous with the ball on her stick, and the junior has 15 goals and four assists. Claire Storms has been great with 11 goals. Emma Murray and Erin Carroll have six and five assists, respectively.
This is an intriguing matchup as both teams are very talented. It might come down to which team wins the midfield.