SJ_sportsweekly_103019

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE SJ PoWER PoLL .....................S2 GAMES To WATCH ..................S2 PLAYER oF THE WEEK .......................... S6 www.southjerseysportsweekly.com

washington township finishes on top PAGE S6

octoBer 30 - noVeMBer 5, 2019

national treasures Eastern High School is home to two girls teams in the fall that are nationally ranked and favorites to win state titles again in the coming weeks, thanks to athletes like Riley Tiernan and Ryleigh Heck By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor

Imagine a high school that has a football and boys soccer team each ranked No. 1 in the country. Or softball and girls track teams. Or boys basketball and wrestling. At Eastern Regional High School, they don’t have to imagine. The Vikings field hockey team (according to MAX Field Hockey) and girls soccer team (according to USA Today) have both been ranked No.1 in the United States this fall and have a reasonable chance to finish at the top spot when their respective seasons end in the coming weeks. Eastern’s field hockey team, winners of 20 straight state championships, has been here before. If they win No. 21, the Vikings, currently No. 2 in MAX Field Hockey’s national poll, will almost certainly get a shot

RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly

eastern High School junior riley tiernan and sophomore ryleigh Heck are just a couple of reasons the Vikings’ soccer and field hockey teams could each finish the season ranked no. 1 in the country. against No. 1 Oak Knoll, the only team to beat them in the last two years. The soccer team, currently No. 1 in the country, was riding a 36-game winning streak heading into the Coaches Tournament semifinals and is an obvious favorite to collect its own Group 4 state championship. The programs are only as successful as its players, and it’s a bonus that two of East-

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ern’s top athletes will be back next year, too. As of Oct. 22, sophomore Ryleigh Heck, a University of North Carolina commit, had an eye-popping 58 goals and 16 assists in 18 games for the field hockey team. She eclipsed the 100-goal mark recently in her 45th career game. On the soccer team, junior Riley Tiernan, a Rutgers commit, collected a hat trick in her first career game two years ago and

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FREE hasn’t slowed down. She had 26 goals and 29 assists in the Vikings’ first 19 games this season and has really taken off in October, with 12 goals in a recent seven-game span. South Jersey Sports Weekly caught up with the two Riley/ Ryleighs before their respective teams began their playoff pursuits. SJSW: So how do you explain this dynamic, Eastern having two of the best girls teams in the country in the same season? Both could be No.1 in the country at season’s end. Tiernan: I think a part of it is the years (our classes) and how it lined up, but I think it has a lot to do with our coaching staff. We’re all very competitive. We have a very good program that comes in, a lot of athletes coming in (from middle school) and that definitely helps. Heck: Obviously Eastern field hockey has been going at it for 20 years with state titles, so I think it started a while ago and we’ve just built up. … And we have good feeder programs, all the middle schools have good field hockey coaches. SJSW: Is there a competition between the two teams, even if its unsaid? Maybe that you motivate each other? Tiernan: I think, yeah, when you see their success it definitely inspires us. When you see another team that’s successful you obviously want to follow in their please see ViKingS, page S7


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