Haddonfield Sports Week

The athletic schedule at Haddonfield Memorial High School was thrown into a bit of chaos last week due to Superstorm Sandy. The storm caused the postponement of several key events, including state playoff games. The results that did come in were not favorable for the home teams as both soccer teams and field hockey teams saw their season come to an end.

FOOTBALL

Superstorm Sandy put a wrench in the football schedule last week as the NJSIAA announced the postponement of the football schedule for the week. While several teams did compete on Friday or Saturday, the majority of squads—including Haddonfield—elected to take the bye week. The Bulldawgs’ home Colonial Conference showdown with the West Deptford Eagles will now take place this Friday, at 7 p.m.

West Deptford enters the game undefeated and looking to clinch sole possession of the Colonial Conference title, while Haddonfield is looking to boost its playoff resume. Expect both teams to be immensely prepared now that the coaching staffs have had an extra week to work out a game plan.

The game will be televised on Comcast.

GIRLS' SOCCER

The playoffs came to a disappointing end for the Haddonfield girls’ soccer team as the No. 1 seed Bulldawgs were upset by No. 8 Cinnaminson, 1-0 in the Group 2 quarterfinals. Brittany Runyen scored the game’s only goal when she took a low feed on a corner kick and fired it home with 20 minutes left in the game. The Bulldawgs pressed for the equalizer but were turned back by Cinnaminson keeper Jamie Campbell, who made nine saves.

The game was a bit of payback for Cinnaminson, which was eliminated by Haddonfield in the semifinals two years ago.

BOYS' SOCCER

The old adage that it is hard to beat a team three times in a season came to a fruition for the boys’ soccer team Saturday, and not in a good way. The No. 1 seeded Bulldawgs saw their season come to a surprisingly early end in a 1-0 loss to West Deptford. The No. 9 Eagles got a goal in the first two minutes and never looked back, advancing to the Group 2 semifinals.

Earlier in the season Haddonfield defeated West Deptford 2-1 and 3-2, but never got its offense in gear despite multiple set pieces throughout the game.

“They played a good game, we didn’t,” said Haddonfield coach Joe Falana. “There’s not much else to say.”

The Bulldawgs finished their season 15-4-1.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Speaking of having extra time to prepare, that’s exactly what the cross-country runners were given when the sectional championships were postponed by the NJSIAA. Haddonfield will now compete this Saturday, at Delsea. The Bulldawgs’ runners have already had close to two weeks to train for the meet, so they will be itching to get out on the course. Both the boys’ and girls’ squads are expected to compete for a Group 2 title and easily advance to states.

FIELD HOCKEY

The playoff run came to an end for the Bulldawgs in the second round of the Group 2 playoffs. After string together a series of wins at the end of the season, Haddonfiled (12-9) opened the playoffs with a win over Seneca. However, the No. 6 Bulldawgs ran into one of the top teams in South Jersey in the second round. Tara Vittese scored three goals and assisted on another as No. 3 Camden Catholic proved too much for Haddonfield in a 6-0 win. The Irish will face No. 2 West Deptford.

The loss brings an end to a season of development for the home squad. One year after graduating almost its entire starting lineup, the program was still able to play competitive field hockey, while making big strides the second half of the year.   Expect Haddonfield to be right back in the title mix next fall.