Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final
STANHOPE. Lenape Valley falls to top-seeded Pequannock, 1-0, in the championship game of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament.
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/432x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/TSXU/lenvallogo_4-7006815_20231105094652.jpg)
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final Kittatinny soccer player Brooke Nelson scored a goal in the Cougars’ 5-0 victory over 13th-seeded Emerson Boro at home Oct. 26. (Photos by George Leroy Hunter)](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/648x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/YPKN/imgp2716_4-7006820_20231105100715.jpg)
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final Kittatinny soccer player Taylor Hough scored a goal and made an assist in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament.](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/648x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/ACKN/imgp2729_4-7006823_20231105100717.jpg)
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final A Kittatinny Cougar and a Emerson Cavalier battle for control of the ball.](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/648x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/SWKN/imgp2768_4-7006826_20231105100719.jpg)
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final Emerson goalie Gillian Pasqualino intercepts the ball, preventing a Kittatinny score. She made 22 saves in the game.](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/648x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/WWKN/imgp2977_4-7006829_20231105100721.jpg)
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final Kittatinny soccer players, from left, Taylor Haugh, Sienna Templeton, Brooke Nelson and Kendra Deckert scored goals.](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/576x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/YAKD/dscf4338_4-7006832_20231105100724.jpg)
![Girls soccer team loses in state sectional final The 2023 Kittatinny Regional High School varsity girls soccer team and their coach Jeanette Spooner, top row at left.](http://www.townshipjournal.com/binrepository/576x432/0c0/0d0/none/1198400/DTKD/dscf4332_4-7006835_20231105100727.jpg)
The seventh-seeded Lenape Valley Regional High School girls soccer team was defeated, 1-0, by top-seeded Pequannock (19-1) in the title game of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament there Monday, Nov. 6.
In the semifinal round, Mayla McLean scored the game’s only goal - off a feed from Molly Gannon - in the second half to lift the Patriots to a 1-0 decision over sixth-seeded Hawthorne there Thursday, Nov. 2.
Junior goalie Riley O’Brien notched her third straight shutout in state tournament play - and sixth this season - against Hawthorne with a six-save effort.
Lenape Valley advanced to the semifinal round with a 2-0 victory over second-seeded Glen Rock there Monday, Oct. 30.
Cassis Yappen and Sarah Melgar each connected for goals, and O’Brien made six saves to pace the Patriots.
Lenape Valley began state tournament play with a 7-0 victory over 10th-seeded Cresskill on Oct. 26 at home.
The offense was keyed by McLean (three goals, one assist), Ajla Brescic (two goals), Yappen (one goal, two assists), Gannon (one goal) and Molly Perry (one assist). O’Brien posted the shutout by saving both shots she faced.
The Patriots, under the direction of head coach Justin Meeth, have gone 11-3-1 since a 2-2 start. McLean, a junior, leads the team in scoring with 18 goals and eight assists.
Kittatinny girls soccer
The Kittatinny Regional High School girls soccer team, seeded fourth, suffered a 2-1 loss to fifth-seeded Waldwick in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament Tuesday, Oct. 31 at home.
Sienna Templeton scored the lone goal for the Cougars, assisted by Taylor Hough. Brooke Ginsberg anchored the defense with a 13-save performance.
Kittatinny (10-7-2) began its state tournament play with a 5-0 victory over 13th-seeded Emerson Boro at home Oct. 26.
Kendra Deckert (two goals), Hough (one goal, one assist), Templeton (one goal), Brooke Nelson (one goal) and Ginsberg (four saves) led the effort.
Nelson, a senior forward, led the Cougars in scoring with 19 goals and two assists, followed by Kendra Deckert (four goals, two assists), Hough (two goals, six assists), Vanessa Destefano (two goals, five assists), Lola Brand (three goals, two assists), Templeton (two goals, two assist), Reese Redden (three assists), Grace Nelson (one goal), Sophia Molfetto (two assists) and Abby Marra (one assist).
Ginsberg, a junior, registered nine shutouts this season.
Kittatinny cross country
Kittatinny senior Iris Wikander came across with a time of 21:09, good for 11th place overall to pace the Cougars at the NJSIAA Group 1 championships Saturday afternoon, Nov. 4 at Holmdel Park in Holmdel.
Other finishers included Katy Silla (46th place in 22:45), Adelyn McGill (73rd in 24:16), Peyton Berg (102nd in 25:51) and Camryn Downey (107th in 26:14).