Sports roundup: Highlanders end in tie with Passaic

Sara Wardlaw, Mia Church and Delaney Piecuch each scored second-half goals for the West Milford High School girls soccer team, which overcame a two-goal halftime deficit and earned a 3-3 tie with Passaic at home Friday afternoon, Sept. 26.

Paige Polglaze made three saves for the Highlanders, who trailed, 2-0, at the half.

West Milford (2-4-1) began the week with a 6-0 win over Belleville there Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Piecuch (two goals, one assist), Wardlaw (two goals), Church (one goal), Charlee Battle (one goal), Gigi Dent (two assists), Catherine Coyle (two assists) and Polglaze (two saves) aided the decision.

Wardlaw has eight goals and an assist this fall, with Piecuch right behind with six goals and two assists.

West Milford was seeded ninth for the Passaic County Tournament and was scheduled to play host to 17th-seeded Passaic Charter in a preliminary round game on Wednesday, Oct. 1. A win there, and the Highlanders would play at eighth-seeded Hawthorne in a first-round contest Friday, Oct. 3.

Here’s how other West Milford teams fared last week:

Boys soccer

Will Dent and Danny Bauer each connected for goals as West Milford outlasted Wayne Hills in overtime, 2-1, there Saturday afternoon, Sept. 27.

Nick Bognar had an assist on each goal for the Highlanders, who received 10 saves from goalie Donovan Ford.

The win came two days after West Milford suffered its first loss of the season, a 4-3 overtime setback at Passaic on Sept. 26.

Bauer had a goal and an assist; Jaco Freire and Jaxon Neibig also scored; and Ford had 11 stops for the Highlanders.

West Milford (6-1-1) will play host to Fair Lawn at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6.

Field hockey

Julia Plewa connected for three goals; Addison Tyburczy had a goal and two assists; and Addyson Seidner and Taylor Keegan each added a goal and an assist to fuel West Milford’s 6-0 victory over Passaic Valley at home Sept. 26.

Goalie Emmeline Kreutzer didn’t have to face a shot on goal to earn her fourth shutout this season.

The Highlanders (6-1) will play at Old Tappan at 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3.

Girls tennis

In its only victory last week, West Milford blanked Passaic Valley, 5-0, at home Monday, Sept. 22.

Julia Meyer-Pflug (first singles), Grace Melucci (second singles) and Ava Tecchio (third singles) each won their respective matches via pro set to key the decision.

The Highlanders (3-6) are slated to play at Fair Lawn at 4:15 p.m. Oct. 6.

Girls volleyball

Peyton Greenberg (13 assists, one ace), Alexa Fritz (seven kills, one block, one ace), Skylar Locke (seven digs), Sienna Franklin (four kills, three digs, three aces), Kailyn Schweighart (five aces, one kill) and Kaitlyn Clarke (two aces, one block) led West Milford, which dropped a hard-fought 25-22, 18-25, 25-13 loss to Fair Lawn there Sept. 26.

The Highlanders (4-3) will have a match against Wayne Valley at 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 before playing host to Wayne Hills at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 6.