South Jersey field hockey notes

Fasten your seat belts, field hockey fans, the showdown at Shawnee is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

Eastern, ranked No. 1 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, will clash with the Renegades, ranked No. 2, in a game that features high-scoring offenses and stingy defenses.

Eastern's is 11-0 overall and 6-0 in the Olympic American. Shawnee is 12-1 overall, 8-0 in the Olympic Patriot.

"We always get excited to play a team that will give us some good competition, and Shawnee is one of those teams," said senior Brittany Evangelisti, Eastern's center right back. "They're usually tough, and it's a physical game."

Eastern's top scorer is freshman Jade Dixon; however, any one of the Vikings can score at any time because they pass the ball swiftly and skillfully in the circle.

"Our defense is strong, and we communicate well," said Becky Stiles, Shawnee's leading scorer. "Going into the game, we must believe that we can beat them and, when a mistake happens, brush it off.

"We know that Eastern is a great team, but we know that we are a great team, too."

Thinking ahead. Glassboro coach Gloria Byard was shouting instructions to her players during a game against Gloucester Catholic on Oct. 6, but she was thinking about Woodstown.

Before and after the Tri-County Diamond Division clash with Gloucester Catholic, Byard spoke about playing undefeated Woodstown, which was leading the division.

"We have a big game on Friday, so hopefully with a good practice tomorrow, we'll see," Byard said after the Bulldogs beat Gloucester Catholic, 3-1, in a game in which junior center forward Alexis Mazzeo scored two goals.

On Friday, Mazzeo scored on an assist by Kendall Fokin with 8 minutes, 16 seconds left in the second half and Gloucester won, 1-0. The victory boosted Glassboro (7-1) to first place and dropped Woodstown (6-2) to second.

Mazzeo, who scored six goals last year, increased her season total to 14.

"She's in the right place at the right time," Byard said. "She knows the game. That's why she takes the majority of our hits."

Defense does it. One of the most interesting things about West Deptford's 2-1 win over Haddonfield in a Colonial Liberty battle last Thursday was who didn't score.

Neither Alex Marshall, Haddonfield's leading goal producer, nor Jamie Robinson, West Deptford's top gun, got a goal. And there were no special defenses set up to contain them.

The action was fast and furious throughout, and the defenses depended on communication and togetherness. That's where the Eagles were better.

"They were awesome," West Deptford coach Linda Decker said about her defenders. "What I saw on the field is what we didn't see the last time around. They were covering for each other."

The last time the teams had met, on Sept. 17, Haddonfield won, 2-0, on goals by Carolyn Clark and Ali Kirk.

This time, Clark tied the score, 1-1, in the first half. But West Deptford sophomore Amanda Hojnowski, in only her second varsity start, scored the winning goal with 19 minutes, 17 seconds left in the second half for a 2-1 victory.

The Eagles handed Haddonfield its first division loss of the season.

Gitt gets record. Brynn Gitt, Rancocas Valley's all-time leading scorer, broke the school's career record for assists in a 7-0 victory over Pemberton on Friday. The all-South Jersey attack came up with her 22d assist, eclipsing the mark of 21 set by Karen Perenchief in 1988.

Another milestone. Boosted by Lexi Smith's four-goal performance against Palmyra on Friday, Florence had a 7-0 victory and the sophomore forward had the school's career scoring record. Smith had 75 goals, breaking the record of 73 set by Melissa Bond in 1975.