Timber Creek makes most of playoff debut

Fifth-year Timber Creek coach Kerri Lafferty admitted that her program isn't "used to winning," yet the Chargers have the only team in South Jersey field hockey history with a perfect record in NJSIAA tournament play.

OK, so Timber Creek had never qualified for the playoffs before this season, but in their postseason debut on Monday the fourth-seeded Chargers made the most of their opportunity by edging fifth-seeded Millville, 2-1, in the South Jersey Group 3 quarterfinals.

Senior center back Amanda Frederick, who is used to stopping offensive bursts, redirected an insert from team scoring leader Ashley Adams on a penalty corner for the match's first score with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.

"No one was more surprised than me," Frederick said of her second goal of the season. "I'm usually the one passing the ball forward, not the one crashing the cage."

That kind of effort from a veteran squad has propelled the Chargers into tomorrow's semifinal showdown at top-seeded Kingsway.

"Coming into the season, I don't know that the girls expected to go to the playoffs," Lafferty said. "I expected, maybe not a playoff berth, but at least for us to have a good season because we have 10 seniors, seven of whom start. Now that we're here, we're going into the game with Kingsway figuring we have nothing to lose."

As their 9-8-2 record would indicate, the Chargers haven't exactly had smooth sailing throughout the season. After righting their ship following a 1-2-1 start, they rallied to secure their first playoff berth and then promptly went into a 1-4 swoon.

"After we qualified, we hit a rough patch," Lafferty said. "I could see that the girls weren't having any fun in those last couple games, so I told them to go out and have fun against Delsea. I could see that they were nervous, but they were ready."

Frederick echoed her coach's sentiments.

"We were all anxious, I know I was really nervous before the game," Frederick said. "But we were there for each other. That's been the key all season. I thought we would finally make the playoffs this year because we had played together for so long and knew how to connect with each other. It was awesome to finally make the tournament because it made every practice and game worth it."

Other seniors have played significant roles for the Chargers, including Adams, midfielder Marlene Erasmus, backs Alexis Lane and Kelsey O'Sullivan and sweeper Megan Fitzpatrick. Juniors Candace Kolbe and Jessica Tanski have supported Adams on attack, and sophomore goalie Stephanie Mullica has routinely picked up the defense.

In looking back on her team's late-season struggles, Lafferty believes the experience helped the Chargers withstand the anxiety of giving up a goal with 44 seconds left on Monday.

"I think those losses may have actually helped us," she said. "I'm kind of glad we had those close games now, because we're used to the pressure of playing from behind in the second half."

Let the games begin. The NJSIAA tournament began in earnest with full slates of games over the last two days, but it could be argued that the real playoffs start today and tomorrow with a handful of tantalizing sectional semifinals.

With all of the favorites holding serve in Monday's quarterfinals, the South Jersey Group 4 pairings have No. 4 seed Cherokee (13-5) heading to top-seeded Eastern (19-1), and third-seeded Washington Township (11-4-2) traveling to face No. 2 seed Egg Harbor Township (15-1-2) this afternoon.

Cherokee lost both of its regular-season matches against the eight-time defending sectional champion Vikings, 7-1 and 5-0. But the Chiefs are pinning their hopes on seniors Tara Mangold, Christie Morad and Kristy McFadden to hang with Eastern, which boasts a balanced attack and a suffocating defense that shifted into overdrive in Monday's 10-0 quarterfinal rout of Atlantic City.

Washington Township roared out to a two-goal lead in the first 6 minutes of Monday's 5-1 romp past Millville, with sophomore Laura Rose stepping up her game with two goals and an assist. The Eagles haven't lost since a 2-1 setback against Ocean City on Sept. 11.

The chalk held up in the South Jersey Group 3 bracket as well, which will send third-seeded Shawnee (17-2) to No. 2 seed Ocean City (17-2-1), and fourth-seeded Timber Creek (9-7-2) to top-seeded Kingsway (17-1).

Shawnee, with firepower from Julie Cairone and Michelle Arfuso, and two-time defending sectional champ Ocean City, backstopped by an impenetrable goalie corps headed by Devon Seifert, each advanced with 7-0 quarterfinal victories. Their lone common opponent this season was Cherokee, which lost 3-0 to the Renegades and beat the Red Raiders, 2-0.

Kingsway, under first-year coach Sara Lewis, has excelled with an all-for-one attitude plus outstanding net-minding by Brittany Dipper and consistent field play by the likes of Lauren Alessi, Rebecca Whedon and Chelsea Minix.

The Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals feature a pair of area teams, with five-time defending sectional champion and No. 4 seed Moorestown (13-5-1) taking on top-seeded Central Regional, and No. 7 seed Pemberton (11-7-1) looking to pull off another surprise at third-seeded Wall Township.

Pemberton has endured a roller-coaster campaign, falling below .500 four times, but is on a season-best five-game unbeaten streak - capped by Monday's 2-0 upset at No. 2 seed Ocean Township.

The sectional finals for both Groups 3 and 4 are set for Saturday.