Team of the Year

Pompton Lakes

Another top-notch season for the Cardinals, who finished 20-2, winning a league title and the North 1, Group I sectional crown for the third straight year. Led by offensive dynamo Danielle Allan, Pompton Lakes scored close to four goals per game, while goalie Amy Cahill anchored a defense that allowed less than one goal on average.

Pompton Lakes rolled undefeated through its league play, employing its up-tempo style to wear down opposing teams. The Cardinals' only losses came to eventual Tournament of Champions winner Oak Knoll in the state Group I semifinals, and to Wayne Hills in the Passaic County tournament final.

That county final loss was the biggest disappointment of the year for Pompton Lakes, and made the Patriots a candidate for this award too. But the Cardinals won the regular-season meeting between the teams, advanced further in the states, and didn't suffer any upset losses during the season while the Patriots had two such defeats. As a result, we are naming Pompton Lakes our JSN Field Hockey Team of the Year.

Player of the Year

Danielle Allan, Pompton Lakes

Pompton Lakes is always a strong field hockey program, but it's no accident that the team has gone 75-9-3 over the past four years. In her career as a Cardinal, Danielle Allan scored 144 goals, obliterating the previous school record. The 56 goals she scored this year (to go along with 11 assists) also set a new school mark.

Opposing teams knew they needed to stop Allan to have a chance to beat Pompton Lakes, but they simply could not. She scored in all but one game this season, and always came up big when her team needed her.

When a top player graduates, it is always said that the coach will miss her. In the case of Danielle Allan, of course, this is doubly true, because the Pompton Lakes coach is also her mother. But while Danielle goes off to play at Quinnipiac University, she can also feel good in the knowledge that she did just about everything she could to enhance the tradition of Pompton Lakes field hockey, and she is our JSN Field Hockey Player of the Year.

Coach of the Year

Jen Badami, Wayne Hills

That Badami led her Patriots to a 16-4 record, along with league and Passaic County titles, is impressive enough. That she did so in the final weeks of pregnancy--while carrying twins, no less--is remarkable.

Badami has her program operating at a high level, as the Patriots managed to replace a Division I recruit in goal with seemingly minimal difficulty. But this season, she also clearly served as an inspiration for her team. As it turned out, she had to miss the county final just after giving birth, and it was obvious that her players wanted to win the title for her as much as for themselves.

For her dedication and another strong season, Jen Badami is our JSN Field Hockey Coach of the Year.

-- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now