Shore retains familiar spot atop Shore Conference Blue Devils hold off upstart Middletown North team in tourney final

Shore retains familiar spot atop Shore Conference
Blue Devils hold off upstart Middletown North team in tourney final

CHRIS KELLY Shore Regional’s Meredith Corradino clears the ball past Middletown North’s Elana Marszalowicz during the Oct. 26 Shore Conference Tournament final in West Long Branch.

While New York City has the Yankees, West Long Branch has the Shore Regional High School field hockey team.

Year after year, Nancy Williams works her magic, rewriting field hockey history while bringing glory to her team and Shore Regional High School.

With only a trio of returning starters, Shore Regional held to their flawless record, defeating Middletown North 2-0 for the 2001 Shore Conference field hockey championship.

"I don’t know if it was a shock to the Shore area to see us in the finals again, but it was a shock to me," said Williams after her team earned the right to defend the title, defeating Central Regional, 2-0, in the semifinals.

CHRIS KELLY Shore Regional goalie Robyn Apicelli follows the ball during the Blue Devils’ Shore Conference Tournament final win over Middletown North on Oct. 26.

"I wanted to use the Shore Conference tournament to ready us for the state tournament. The tournament is always tough, playing four games in a span of nine days, against Group III and IV teams.

"I didn’t think the girls would mature this fast. I give them a lot of credit for they way they have worked hard all season, becoming such a solid team who plays as a team," Williams said.

This win marks the third straight crown earned by Shore, as they now bolster a 19-0 record.

In the semifinal game against Central on Oct. 24, Shore’s defense gave a command performance, as the Blue Devils defeated Central 2-0.

With a 17-0 record in their pocket, the Blue Devils had to host the physical Central team, a team who scored the first goal in a season-opening match-up of the two teams.

"We’ve changed things a lot since our first encounter with Central," said Williams. "We had to build a new system for this year’s team because we didn’t return anyone really on defense.

"In the beginning of the season we were real young, and the kids didn’t have a lot of confidence. After 18 games the kids have a lot more confidence and they know what they are capable of."

The Eagles may have scored the first goal at the beginning of the season, but it was Monica Miceli who struck first to give Shore a 1-0 lead in the Oct. 24 game.

After a defensive standoff that kept the first half scoreless, the sophomore forward rifled a shot from the top of the arch, beating Central’s keeper at 32:01.

Almost three minutes later, Lauren Hennessey carried the ball to the left side of the circle and crossed it to Casey Whalen, who one-timed the pass to score inside the right post.

Along with the defensive field unit, senior Robyn Apicelli was outstanding in goal, halting seven shots to anchor her team’s victory.

This helped to set up the tournament final against a surging Middletown North team, which had defeated a pair of unbeatens earlier in the week to earn their spot in the final. The Lions were the hottest team in the Shore entering the contest, and had made believers out of everyone.

And then they ran into the machine that is the Shore Regional field hockey team.

The Blue Devils opened last Friday’s championship game with a fiery determination, controlling the ball until Ali Shames-Dawson struck the back of the cage at the 4:043 mark.

The goal came just two minutes after Amanda Arnold rifled a shot just wide of Middletown’s goal.

The fast pace of the game allowed both teams to display their athletic abilities, and even though Shore would go on to score a second goal, which Meredith Corradino one-timed during a penalty corner at the 55:10 mark of the second half, neither team solely dominated the field.

But if anything separated the two teams, it was the Shore defense, which once again came up big in a clutch spot.

"Coach has been on our backs to improve the defense every day," said senior captain Kristin McConville. "Every day at practice we would spend a half-hour just working on nothing but defensive drills.

"We knew people doubted us, didn’t think we would even get this far. But we knew if we worked hard, and worked as a team, anything would be possible."

Defenders like Lauren Hennessey, Annie Skove, McConville, Corradino and Robyn Halper, along with Apicelli, were the difference for Shore.

Of the four saves Apicelli was called on to make, two of them were spectacular diving saves.

"We stepped it up in this game more than I’ve ever seen us do," said Apicelli. "There were a couple of bumps through the game, (but) we got through them, worked together and dominated."

Shore will take their Shore Conference crown with them next week when they embark into the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I state tournament.

The Blue Devils are seeded first, beginning the tournament with a first-round bye. Their first game will be on Nov. 5th.

Although they are a definitive favorite entering the tournament, the Blue Devils are taking nothing for granted.

They know what it takes to win once you reach this point of the season, just like a certain champion which calls the Bronx its home.