Seven Jersey Sports Now area field hockey teams are heading for the New Jersey post-season.  Those squads had the necessary .500-or-better record as of last Wednesday in order to qualify.  Games begin next Monday, November 3rd.

Here is the outlook for the various teams:

North Jersey Section 1, Group 1:

Pompton Lakes drew the #1 seed in this bracket, and appears to have a strong chance to win a sectional title.  The Passaic County champs will have a first-round bye before taking on the winner of the 4/5 game (see below).  With state powerhouse Oak Knoll moving from this section to North Section 2, the Cardinals have to be the favorite.

If there's a team that could knock off Pompton Lakes, it would be Mountain Lakes.  After all, the Lakers already did it once this year.  Their 2-1 victory way back on September 15th is still the Cardinals' only loss of the field hockey season.  Mountain Lakes is the #3 seed in the bracket and will open on Tuesday, November 4th against #6 seed Whippany Park in a matchup of Colonial Hills Conference foes.

Boonton drew the #5 seed and will visit #4 Morristown-Beard on Tuesday 11/4, with the winner taking on Pompton Lakes on Friday.

North Jersey Section 1, Group 2:

Pequannock struggled in the final games before the cutoff, dropping to the #6 seed in this brutal bracket.  The Panthers will have to travel to Sussex County to take on always-strong Newton in the first round.  If Pequannock gets past the Braves, the road only gets harder:  they would likely meet West Essex in the sectional semifinals, with state #2-ranked Madison almost surely waiting in the sectional finals.

North Jersey Section 1, Group 3:

Three area teams qualified in this bracket, but all must open on the road on Monday, November 3rd.  While all three will be underdogs, the local teams are all capable of doing some real damage in this wide-open bracket.

5th-seed Passaic Valley will travel to #4 Demarest in the first round.  The Hornets have been an up-and-down field hockey team this year, and could be dangerous in this bracket.  A win in their first game sends the Hornets to play top seed Wayne Hills on Thursday, November 6th.

West Milford drew the #6 seed in the bracket and will travel to Northern Highlands for the Battle of the Highlanders.  West Milford has been an unpredictable team this sports season, and certainly are capable of giving its Bergen County foes a serious tussle.

Montville appeared to be on the outside looking in until a late run allowed them to reach the .500 mark just in time for the cutoff.  That gave the Mustangs the #7 seed and a trip to face #2 seed High Point in Sussex County.  If Montville can continue their hot play, an upset is hardly out of the realm of possibility here. -- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now