"I said if you lose, it has to be to a better team, and Robbinsville was the better team," said Haddonfield coach Glenn Gess, whose team finished 24-2.
Despite Robbinsville being the better team on this spring-like evening, the Ravens still needed to go to overtime before Christine Levering ended matters with her second goal of the game, scoring in the 84th minute.
This was a classic case of teams with different styles and, in this game, there also were different halves.
Haddonfield dominated early. The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Maddie Kiep headed in a beautifully placed corner kick from sophomore Kylie Kirk.
The Bulldogs kept the pressure up as Emily Carson hit the post on a 12-yard shot from an angle in the 12th minute.
In the second half, the Ravens (19-2) dominated. Levering scored the equalizer in the 47th minute, and her team kept buzzing around the goal for seemingly the rest of the game.
Keeper Kellie Riley kept the Bulldogs in the game with some big saves, but Robbinsville was relentless.
As for the difference in styles, Haddonfield is among the top teams in the state in the air, and Robbinsville moves the ball effectively on the carpet, playing an impressive possession game.
"Once we settled down, we were able to dominate," Robbinsville coach Karen DeRossett said. "They are so good in the air that we knew we had to keep it on the ground."
This Haddonfield team had 13 seniors and accomplished so much. Besides winning the S.J. Group 2 title, the Bulldogs captured the Colonial Conference Liberty Division and advanced to the finals of the South Jersey Coaches Tournament.
Kiep, a senior who will play lacrosse at Cornell, looked at the defeat through a practical lens: "Sometimes it just doesn't happen. . . . We couldn't contain them."
Then in summing up her final game, Kiep added, "I am very proud of what we accomplished."
As well she should be.
Haddonfield 1 0 0 – 1
Robbinsville 0 1 1 – 2
Goals: H-Maddie Kiep; R-Christine Levering.
Saves: H-Kellie Riley 5; R-Hannah Binder 1.
Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com, or @sjnard on Twitter. Find his Rally columns at www.philly.com/narducci
