Eastern reaches field hockey title game

Maybe the Eastern field hockey team should change its nickname from the Vikings to the Dominators.

For the second consecutive game, at a time of the season when every shot and goal is pressure-treated, Eastern has dominated in shots, corners, defense and, most importantly, goals.

West Essex, the third seed in the Tournament of Champions, was the latest victim last night as the Vikings turned out the lights on the Knights, 3-0, at Hunterdon Central.

Second-seeded Eastern (24-2), which displayed similar dominance over Bridgewater-Raritan during a 3-0 win for the NJSIAA Group 4 state crown Sunday, advances to the TOC final against Wall Township at 1 p.m. Sunday at the College of New Jersey.

Wall, the No. 4 seed, upset top-seeded Oak Knoll.

In an eerie repetition of Sunday's scoring, Gabby Kozlowski pumped in two goals and Janine Kovach one for the win.

And Kozlowski didn't waste any time going to the cage.

On a sweet feed from Kelsey Mitchell on the right side, Kozlowski, a senior forward, drilled a ball past keeper Noell Gomez 1 minute, 11 seconds into the game to give Eastern a 1-0 lead.

" 'Bats out of hell' has been our saying all season and to do it in both halves was great," Kozlowski said in reference to early goals by her and Kovach.

It took Kovach 1:57 into the second half to give Eastern a 3-0 lead.

In between, Kozlowski made the score 2-0 on an assist from Kasey Daly with 15:23 left in the first half.

Kovach, a senior midfielder, scored off a corner on assists by Mitchell and Kozlowski.

"I tipped it in," Kovach said. "I felt that we dominated the game. We really put it all together. We were all on the same page."

Eastern dominated in shots, 20-9; in corners, 14-4; and defensively.

Knights (20-4) senior midfielder Ali Cassera appeared to have her 15th goal of the season when she scored from a corner with 7:18 left until intermission. However, the shot was high, and she was the first player to touch the ball after the insert, both of which nullified the goal.

Eastern's Melanie Dawson, a junior center defender, shined defensively, stripping the Knights' forwards of the ball and clearing them at critical moments in the game.

"With Jessica [Deaner], Jaclyn [Beasley] and Colleen [Petronchak], our defense has come along so far this season," Dawson said. "I wanted to keep the ball out of the midfield, hold the inside, hold the middle.

"And scoring first is what we wanted. We proved ourselves. We dominated."

West Essex 0 0 - 0

Eastern 2 1 - 3

Goals: Gabby Kozlowski (2), Janine Kovach.

Saves: WE - Noell Gomez 12. E - Alana Barry 4