EWING, N.J. - Could this one be the best ever?
That's not a question that is thrown around the Eastern field hockey program very lightly, but this year's edition was so dominant that even coach Danyle Heilig concedes the possibility.
Eastern finished another season in its accustomed position as the top team in the state of New Jersey and beyond with Sunday's 5-2 victory over West Essex in the Tournament of Champions final at the College of New Jersey.
Here are just a few numbers to chew.
Eastern finished 27-0 in winning its fourth TOC title since the inception of the tournament in 2006. This postseason, the Vikings outscored teams by 53-6.
Yet the number that might be most sobering to future Eastern opponents is four. That's the number of seniors on the entire team.
So Heilig, who has guided the team to 13 consecutive state Group 4 titles, has never thrown superlatives around lightly simply because there is such a huge legacy in the past to live up to. Yet even Heilig is willing to put this year's team in rare air.
"It's definitely one of the best ever," said Heilig, whose team is ranked No. 1 in South Jersey by The Inquirer. "I honestly don't think we have a weakness."
Think about that statement. Heilig wasn't saying it in a boastful manner, but it's hard to dispute her assessment.
"Eastern is like a machine," said West Essex coach Jill Crosse, whose 23-2 team is a perennial state power. "They are strong, play so well together. It's almost robotic."
The title win showed Eastern's tremendous balance and depth.
Five players scored for Eastern. Sophomore Kasey Morano, junior Emma Johansson, junior Erin Hoag, and sophomore Karlee Spirit scored in the first half, staking Eastern to a 4-1 lead. Then freshman Austyn Cuneo capped her incredible first season by scoring the final goal, her 69th of the season, with 16 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game. That tied a single-season state record shared by Eastern's Kelsey Mitchell in 2009 and West Essex's Michelle Vizzuso in 1994.
"It feels good, but I definitely couldn't do it without my team," Cuneo said. "It was a great feeling, and as soon as it happened all my teammates congratulated me and it felt great, but we knew we had to go out and keep playing."
Can you detect the pattern in the goal scorers?
They all return next year, as do a number of other talented players.
