Northern Highlands field hockey dominates its way to fourth straight county title

OLD TAPPAN – For almost any other team, it would be a performance for the ages.

But for coach Allison Ege and the Northern Highlands field hockey program, it was more like business as usual in a truly dominant season.

The Highlanders looked all the part of an unbeaten top seed Sunday, rolling past No. 2 Ramsey, 8-0, in the Bergen County championship at Old Tappan High School. The win locked up the fourth straight county title for Northern Highlands, which holds the all-time lead with 21 crowns.

The Highlanders won this one in style, too, from Shannon Arber's crafty deflection in front to a long-range missile from Alexa Birch. No one had scored more than five goals in the BCWCA final in at least four decades.

"I really am lucky," Ege said. "I have 16 seniors who play hard every single game. I have three committed to play D1 next year so the level that they all have together is just amazing and they rise to that every game."

One senior who rose to the challenge on Sunday was Arber. The Villanova commit not only set a personal best with three goals, but collected her 100th career point by following up her own rebound late in the first quarter. The milestone wasn't on her radar until a few days ago.

"I don't even have any words to describe it," Arber said. "It's amazing. To be able to do that against a rival in a county final with such an amazing team is great."

What it means

In Bergen County, Northern Highlands (14-0) is still the field hockey capital. This is only the second case where a team has won four straight BCWCA titles and the first since the Highlanders racked up six in a row from 2008 to 2013.

Northern Highlands' senior class has made sure to uphold that legacy, whether in the postseason or not. The Highlanders have reeled off 35 straight wins against county opponents since the start of the 2021 season.

"I think it really shows how hard we work on and off the field," Birch said. "Our bond off the field can really correlate on the field with connecting our passes."

Inside the match

Northern Highlands took control from the start, getting the first nine corners and hemming Ramsey in its own zone for long stretches. Arber was the catalyst early on, as her first-half hat trick sent the Highlanders to the break with a 6-0 lead.

"Consistency. Heart. Hustle," Ege said. " Everything you want in a player, she's it on and off the fied."

Northern Highlands had no problem making the lead stick with the No. 1 defense in the state. The Highlanders have recorded 13 straight shutouts and a goal differential of 79-1, even with with Jenna Livathares as the only returning starter on defense.

"We take a lot of pride in not getting scored on," Livathares said. "So that's something we want to keep up not only in counties but in states."

Senior Ava Chalfin added two goals for Northern Highlands and goalie Salma Hassan made four saves in the win. As easy as the Highlanders made things look, Ege stopped short of calling this her team's best performance of the season.

"I think every game is the best game this year," Ege said. "They're a fantastic team. It's just an exciting journey and ride that we've been on and it didn't end here. We're ready to go on to the next."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Northern Highlands field hockey dominates its way to fourth straight county title