Sports roundup: Lions advance in H/W/S Tournament

Kaitlyn Honig knocked in a rebound off an initial shot by Gabriella Celentano with 5:19 remaining in overtime to lift the 17th-seeded Pope John XXIII Regional High School field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over 12th-seeded Hunterdon Central in the first round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament there Friday afternoon, Oct. 10.

The Lions (3-9) advanced to the H/W/S second round, where they were scheduled to play at fifth-seeded Delaware Valley on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Pope John had taken a 1-0 lead against Hunterdon Central when Celentano scored off a feed from Brooke Fox with 9:57 remaining in the first quarter. Hunterdon Central knotted the score in the second period, and the game remained tied until overtime.

Goalie Evelyn Gerald made eight saves to solidify the Pope John defense.

Here’s how other Pope John teams have fared recently:

Boys soccer

Ethan Nowak scored the game’s only goal off a feed from Nicholas Acito in the second half to lift the 11th-seeded Lions to a 1-0 victory over sixth-seeded Phillipsburg in the second round of the H/W/S Tournament there Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Matthew Rivera earned his third shutout of the season for the Lions with a three-save effort.

With the win, Pope John (7-5) advanced to the H/W/S quarterfinal round at third-seeded Hackettstown scheduled Tuesday, Oct. 14. The tournament semifinal round is slated for Saturday, Oct. 18.

Pope John had defeated 18th-seeded South Hunterdon, 3-1, in a tri-county first-round game at home Oct. 3.

Nowak scored twice, Acito had a strike and Rivera had two saves to key that decision.

Acito has nine goals and eight assists to lead the Pope John offense this season.

Girls soccer

Pope John, seeded 11th, bowed to sixth-seeded Hunterdon Central in the second round of the H/W/S Tournament there Wednesday, Oct. 8.

The Lions (2-12) had defeated 18th-seeded Warren Hills, 2-0, in a first-round contest there Oct. 3.

Goalie Abigail Talmadge has led Pope John, which will play host to Morris Hills at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20.

Girls tennis

All three singles flights earned victories as Pope John won a 3-2 decision over Morris Knolls there Oct. 3.

The winners included Julia Tarkowska (first singles), Ava Duda (second singles) and Yana Saluja (third singles) - all in straight sets.

Emily Fuchs and Grace Skalupa (first doubles) and Stella Fristansky and Isabella Hrebek (second doubles) also competed for the Lions, who finished their season with a 3-9 mark.

Girls volleyball

Nora Marino (10 service points, seven aces, one kill), Stella Scardigno five service points, four assists, three aces, two digs, one kill), Madison Dugan (four digs, three service points, two aces, one kill), Christiana Lipka (nine assists, two digs, two kills, one block), Casey Carney (eight kills, four service points, two aces), Audrey Bonner (three service points, one dig), Ashley Zabriske (two service points), Catherine Daly (five kills, four digs), Maria Schnabel (four service points, one ace) and Reese Tobey (one block) paced Pope John to a 25-16, 25-12 victory over Blair there Oct. 4.

The Lions are seeded 11th for the H/W/S Tournament and were scheduled to play at sixth-seeded Phillipsburg in a first-round match Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Cross country

Julia Ireland placed fourth with a time of 19:53.57 to lead the Pope John girls and Reece Wilson was 21st in 18:07.57 to pace the boys at the third North Jersey Athletic Conference batch meet Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Greystone Park in Morris Plains.

Pope John will compete in the H/W/S Championships on Thursday, Oct. 23 in Phillipsburg.