Girls soccer team loses in quarterfinal
SPARTA. The Spartans fall to Randolph, 3-2, in the state sectional tournament.
Sparta /
| 31 Oct 2023 | 08:53
Taryn Picariello of Vernon and Eliana Intorrella of Sparta close in on the ball in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 2 tournament Oct. 27 in Vernon. The third-seeded Vikings defeated 14th-seeded Sparta, 5-1. (Photos by George Leroy Hunter)
Vernon midfielder Abigail Cawley drives the ball as Sparta midfielder Ava Capeci reaches in with her stick. Cawley scored one goal.
Shea Cina of Sparta drives the ball.
Sparta and Vernon players pursue the ball.
Sparta and Vernon players focus on the ball near the goal post.
Vernon midfielder Bailey Mann scored one goal and made one assist in the game against Sparta.
The Sparta High School girls soccer team, seeded fifth, began post-season play with a dominant 5-0 victory over 12th-seeded Mount Olive on Thursday, Oct. 26 at home.
That was the opening round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament.
The Spartans, ranked No. 4 in the state, then lost to fourth-seeded Randolph, 3-2, in the sectional quarterfinal round Monday, Oct. 30.
The sectional semis are scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 2, with the championship game Monday, Nov. 6.
Against Mount Olive, Sparta was fueled by Juliana Dolinski (three goals, two assists), Uma Kowalski (two goals), Abigail Connors (two assists), Katie Sutton (one assist) and goalie Riley Molbury (two saves).
Here’s how other Sparta teams fared last week:
Cross country
Julian Laznik-Moraghan (17:27) and Remson Jarrell (17:29) finished in 13th and 14th place, respectively, to lead the Sparta boys cross country team to a third-place finish at the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 sectional championships Saturday, Oct. 28.
Other finishers at the championships held at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park included Dean Stas (23rd in 18:25), Tyler Harms (37th in 18:56), Timothy Mudrick (41st in 19:00), Jack Wittenmeier (45th in 19:10) and Deagan Hopkins (56th in 19:27).
On the girls side, Ashley Crane placed fifth overall with a time of 20:53 to pace the Spartans to a seventh-place team finish.
Other place-winners were Ava Barone (15th in 21:47), Kiernan Moore (55th in 24:06), Kate Sutphen (58th in 24:16), Eva Hughes (65th in 24:34), Talia Sanchez (80th in 25:36) and Alexandra Radcliffe (89th in 26:16).
The state group championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 4 at Holmdel Park.
Boys soccer
Sparta, seeded 13th, dropped a 3-1 decision to fourth-seeded Tenafly in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament there Wednesday, Oct. 25.
Tenafly held a 3-0 lead at the half before Tobias Gomez connected off a pass from Charlie Canzoneiro for Sparta in the second half.
Sparta (9-7) was led this fall by Canzoneiro (five goals, five assists), Patrick Connors (three goals, nine assists), Kyle Enderle (five goals, five assists), Quint Flannery (five goals, four assists) and Tobias Gomez (seven goals).
Field hockey
The 14th-seeded Spartans bowed to third-seeded Vernon, 5-1, in the first round of the NJSIAA Group 2 tournament there Friday afternoon, Oct. 27.
Eliana Intorrella scored off a feed from Madison Campisi as Sparta (9-10) trailed, 2-1, at the half. Keara Hynes made 18 saves for the Spartans.
Sophia Candeloro (eight goals, six assists), Campisi (six goals, five assists), Kailyn Moughrabie (seven goals, two assists) and Intorrella (six goals, one assist) paced Sparta, which went 9-1 in winning the NJAC National Division championship.
Girls volleyball
Sparta, ranked No. 1 in the state, was seeded first in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament and received a bye into the quarterfinal round. It is scheduled to host eighth-seeded Westwood on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
The Spartans are 46-2 during the past two seasons and looking to repeat as Group 2 state champions.