INSIDE THIS ISSUE SJ POWer POLL ....... S2 PLAYer OF THe Week ............ S4
Williamstown again home to player of the year PAGe S6
www.southjerseysportsweekly.com
DECEMBER 4-10, 2019
Forever Eastern United
rYAn LAWrenCe/South Jersey Sports Weekly
Eastern Regional High School’s field hockey team suffered two losses in 2019, both to Oak Knoll, a private North Jersey school ranked No. 1 in the country. But they scored wins over top national programs from Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia and Kentucky and also collected an unprecedented 21st consecutive Group 4 state championship this fall.
By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor
The 99 words are still there for anyone to see on a news story that turned 12 years old last month. “End of a Dynasty” read the headline in The New York Times. The lead continued with the theme. “Eastern High School’s nine-year dynasty in New Jersey field hockey is over,” it read. The story was from Nov. 16, 2007, when Eastern Regional High School’s powerhouse field hockey team fell in the Tournament of Champion semifinals to Oak Knoll. The loss
Eastern Regional’s prestigious field hockey team rolled to the program’s 21st straight state championship and beat state champions from three others states, too, in proving itself as a national power
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Free was the program’s first in-state defeat in nine years, snapping a 208-game unbeaten streak against New Jersey foes. Fast forward a dozen years later. End of a dynasty? Hardly. Although the Vikings once again lost to Oak Knoll, this time in the TOC title game last month, they also beat everyone else on their schedule, including a who’s who of the top teams in the state and from around the country, too. They went 23-2, with both losses coming to Oak Knoll, the No. 1 team in the country, according to MAX Field Hockey. They collected an unprecedented 21 straight Group 4 state championship, a run that began when head coach Danyle Heilig took over the program in 1999. Eastern has won eight of the 13 Tournament of Champions titles, claiming the distinction as the top team in the state, since the tournament began in 2006, including seven since the “End of the Dynasty” headline appeared 12 years ago last month. “There’s no stopping it,” said Elise Pettisani, one of nine seniors on this year’s Eastern state championship team. “We’re just passing on the same traditions that have been carried on the past 20 or so years. Everyone understands that being a part of this program is more than just a commitment. It’s all the dedication and the time and the hard work put it into. It’s an understanding.” “To be a part of such a great program with such a long legacy, it’s definitely a lot of hard work,” added fellow senior Kendall Jung, “and it’s definitely not just the team we have this year but the generations of hard work, passing it down from the next team to the next (and so on).” Rather than succumb to the pressure that comes with putting on an Eastern please see EASTERN, page S7