Johnson Field Hockey Falls in UCT, Takes on Summit Tonight in States

The late-October meeting between Oak Knoll and Johnson in the Union County Field Hockey Tournament final has become as much a staple of autumn as falling leaves or Halloween.

On Sunday, the two state powers clashed for the eighth straight season and it was top-seeded Oak Knoll that came out on top, scoring the first five goals of the game en route to a 5-1 victory over second-seeded Johnson at Arthur L. Johnson. The game was originally scheduled for Kean University in Union for the second straight season but was moved after that venue was closed after the snowstorm that blanketed the area on Saturday. The staff at Johnson High School, headed by Athletic Director Gus Kalikas, did a great job in having the field in playing shape and all of the snow pushed to the sidelines.

Oak Knoll, which received two goals and three assists from Teresa Benvenuti and two goals from Ryan McCarthy, was appearing in its 13th straight UCT final and has won or shared 11 titles in that span. Starting in 2004, Oak Knoll and Johnson have met for county supremacy each year. Johnson finally broke through and won its first UCT title in 2009 when it earned a 3-2 victory over its rival.

On Sunday however, Johnson fell behind early, trailing, 3-0, at the half. Despite the loss, Johnson head coach Katrina Anderson wasn’t dismayed. “This is a great warm up for us for the state tournament,” said Anderson. “We gave a good effort and took some chances today. Some didn’t work out; it happens sometimes. But we’ll be ready to go once the States start.”

Johnson trailed, 5-4, in penalty corners in the first half, but Oak Knoll earned the first six corners of the second half, scoring on the third of its chances with just over 19 minutes left in the game to take a 4-0 lead. Oak Knoll, which improved to 20-0 and extended its school-record winning streak to 47 games, finished its offensive output when McCarthy scored off a pass from Benvenuti with 13:07 left.

Johnson however, which received seven saves from Becky Brattole, avoided the shutout as Amanda Wnorowski connected after taking a pass from Nicole Imbriaco with 3:05 remaining in the game.

Imbriaco and Wnorowski, both seniors, are the two leading scorers for Johnson this fall. Imbriaco now has 30 goals and 19 assists and Wnorowski has totaled 13 goals and eight assists. Imbriaco is second in the county in scoring to Benvenuti, who owns 34 goals and 16 assists.

“This was a tough loss but they’re a tough opponent and a tough rival,” said Imbriaco. “Playing them can only help us for the states. But we won’t take anything for granted. We just take it one game at a time.”

Johnson (16-4) is the defending NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 champion and will begin pursuit of its third sectional title in four years tonight when the team plays Summit at home.

Last year, Johnson captured the sectional title in dramatic fashion when Caitlin Moran took a feed from Imbriaco and scored in the second overtime to lift the Lady Crusaders to a 2-1 victory.

The Lady Crusaders started this season 10-0 before dropping back-to-back games to Oak Knoll and Moorestown on Oct. 6 and Oct. 10, respectively. Johnson’s other loss this year prior to Sunday was a 7-0 setback to West Essex on Oct. 20. Oak Knoll is regarded as the state’s top field hockey team by The Star-Ledger with West Essex ranked third. Johnson was No. 15 in the latest rankings.

Imbriaco, who has given a verbal commitment to attend Rutgers, has full faith in her team for the remainder of the season with Anderson at the helm. “She’s just an amazing coach,” said Imbriaco of Anderson. “She knows when to push us and when to pull back. She motivates us really well and gets the most out of us.”

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JOHNSON FIELD HOCKEY SCHEDULE 2011

Sept. 8: vs. Mount St. Dominic (W, 9-0)
Sept. 13: at Union (W, 9-0)
Sept. 17: vs. Columbia (W, 8-0)
Sept. 20: vs. Kent Place (W, 4-0)
Sept. 22: at Gov. Livingston (W, 2-0)
Sept. 26: vs. MKA (W, 7-0)
Sept. 27: vs. Livingston (W, 5-0)
Sept. 30: at Westfield (W, 6-0)
Oct. 3: vs. Pingry (W, 2-1)
Oct. 4: vs. Newark Academy (W, 6-1)
Oct. 6: vs. Oak Knoll (L, 5-0)
Oct. 10: at Moorestown (L, 4-2)
Oct. 13: at Cranford (W, 4-1)
Oct. 15: vs. Gov. Livingston (W, 2-0)
Oct. 18: vs. Glen Ridge (W, 5-0)
Oct. 20: at West Essex (L, 7-0)
Oct. 22: UCT semifinal vs. Kent Place (W, 2-0)
Oct. 25: vs. Millburn (W, 3-1)
Oct. 27: vs. Montclair (W, 4-1)
Oct. 30: UCT final vs. Oak Knoll (L, 5-1)
Nov. 2: NJSIAA playoffs vs. Summit