Morristown-Beard field hockey defeats Vernon 3-1 to win Northwest B title

Throughout an odd 2020 fall season, Morristown-Beard field hockey has counted on its seven seniors to lift the team up.

During the Northwest B region final on Saturday afternoon, those seniors delivered in the big moments against top-seeded Vernon.

Following a scoreless opening half, the Crimson broke out of halftime with a pair of goals from senior Joele Russomanno off two straight penalty corners to take a decisive advantage that it used to take down the Vikings, 3-1, and claim the championship at Vernon High School.

"We’ve been working for this, especially the seniors, for all four years," Russomanno said. "This is what we’ve wanted, and we finally got it our senior year. We couldn’t do it with any other team. This is the team that was going to do it and we did it."

After losing in the Morris County Tournament and Non-Public B North championship games to Madison and Oak Knoll, respectively, in 2019, Morristown-Beard (7-1) was finally able to celebrate the result it desperately wanted.

It came against a Vernon squad that had been perfect in the regular season. The Vikings closed their 2020 campaign with a 13-1 records.

"Unfortunately, it was one of the days where the ball didn’t roll our way," Vikings head coach Kieran Killeen said. "A couple of chances on corners early in the game really would have shifted the momentum our way, but unfortunately it wasn’t our day and the ball didn’t cross the line early for us when we needed it to."

The teams took a combined 15 penalty corners during a back-and-forth first half. Vernon came the closest, with Natalie Hasert ringing a shot off the post in the first quarter.

But in the second half, the third-seeded Crimson found their opening.

Senior midfielder Kaitlyn Tartaglione swept a pass to freshman Rylan McDonald on the right corner. McDonald's drive was knocked high up into the air and Russomanno batted a waist-high deflection high into the net.

Less than two minutes later, senior Annabel Plante knocked a rebound across to Russomanno in front of the net for the second goal that gave Morristown-Beard a big 2-0 advantage at the 9:15 mark of the second quarter.

"It hasn’t always been easy for us with the corners, and we were working really hard on them," Crimson head coach Kate Alderman said. "We were happy that we were able to capitalize in those moments, and it was critical for this game."

After the Crimson's second goal, it would be up to its defense to hold on. Vernon applied plenty of pressure with Alyssa VanDalinda and Julia Gregory helping to command possession.

The Vikings finished with 15 penalty corners to the Crimson's nine, but could only cash in once. Early in the fourth on its 12th corner of the game, Vernon's Rebecca Bogdewicz slid a pass down to Julia Gregory who found Madison Hordych on the right post for a goal to make it 2-1 with 12:36 to play.

"Our defense communicates, that’s what we do best," Morristown-Beard senior captain Jess Patricia said. "I’m in the middle and to my right is Sydney (Strollo) and my left is Talie (Hess). We communicate because without communication we can’t do anything. We were solid on defense. We connect as a unit and offense is the same as the midfield and defense. We work together, and when everyone is doing their part it makes everyone play better."

But Morristown-Beard's defense stayed compact the rest of the game, and Tartaglione provided her team with a critical insurance goal off a restart with 8:23 to play in regulation to make it 3-1.

What it means

The Crimson finally got over the hump with its transcendent senior class leading the way.

Morristown-Beard closed out the season with a 7-1 record, with its lone loss coming 3-0 against Madison, a team the Crimson beat in the regional quarterfinals.

The Vikes were able to claim a second straight division title during the regular season. 

"We won Prep finals last year, but it’s a different feeling. Being seniors, our team is so close," Patricia said. "Being on and off the field with the whole COVID, it’s been difficult but it’s amazing to finish the season like this, on a win and with a title. It’s amazing, and doing it with the people I love the most."

They said it

"We’ve seen this in past games we’ve played. Right when we get one goal in, they keep coming and coming. That’s where we get a ton of our energy from and it works really well for us." -Russomanno

"Moments like this, there’s not much you can say except to be there with them, soak in the moment with them and let them know that they did a great job. They did the best they could, they worked hard, they gave it everything, and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for. There’s no use diagnosing the game, it’s not going to fix anything." -Killeen