On paper, Newton’s roster looks a lot like it did last year.

Just under 98 percent of their offense returned this fall and nearly every player across the board is enjoying a career year.

That includes Kaitlyn Harding, who scored 29 goals a year ago and entered her junior season with 47 for her career. He’s close to reaching that in the first 21 games of 2024.

Harding’s 29 points led the 2023 team, which had a crushing end to the season with a loss to Glen Ridge in the first round of the North Jersey Group 1 Tournament. Now, with another year of experience added to the mix, this group is one win away from reaching the Group 1 state finals.

“I think part of it was just growth,” Newton head coach Ashley Tashjian said. “They were growing as players and as humans. They are strong. “They came back stronger this year.”

Harding has been front and center during a dominant regular season stretch and that carries over into the postseason.

The junior hit the back of the cage four times to propel second-seeded Newton, No. 15 in the NJ.com Top 20, to a dramatic 8-3 victory over third-seeded Pompton Lakes in the semifinal round of the North Jersey. Group 1 Tournament in Newton.

“I thought we played a really good game,” Harding said. “We prepared our practice very well for it. So I think going in we knew we were going to win and we showed (our confidence before the game). So I think we all knew we desperately wanted this win.”

Harding scored the first three goals of the game to give his team a commanding lead and added another later to complete his second four-goal performance of 2024. He is just eight goals away from matching his total from his freshman and sophomore seasons.

One of the differences in this group points to the players around her.

Jaclyn Vena and Meadow D’Annibale combined for 14 goals last year and scored three of them in Monday’s win. That brought their total to 22.

“In the past, we didn’t really spend much time with each other, but I think now that we trust each other, we know we’ll be there for each other,” Harding said. “Let’s get the ball.”

“They’re fun, because each one has their own strength,” Tashjian added. “Meadow is incredibly fast. I mean, she can outdo anyone. (Vena) makes those quick little stick moves that are really hard to defend and then (Harding) just takes the ball and hits one of the hardest shots I’ve seen at this at this age.”

Their success is also a result of Emma Trout blocking things out in the middle of the field. The junior scored her second goal of the season in the victory, both in the state tournament.

Trout and the defense were tasked with stopping Rutgers commissioner Krista Lilienthal. The star senior had two assists on a pair of Samara Bash goals. When they got to the scoresheet, Newton already had an insurmountable 6-1 lead.

Abbie Pagila was also excellent when called upon and made 13 saves.

Newton is riding a six-game winning streak into his first sectional final appearance since 2018 against top-seeded Madison, which upset fifth-seeded Johnson in overtime in their semifinal bout.

“I think this year our team camaraderie is a lot stronger,” Harding said. “We are not only friends on the field, but also off the field. We bonded a lot. We have a lot of team dinners and spend a lot of time outside of field hockey, so I think that makes us do a lot better.”

You can contact Brian Bobal at [email protected]. Follow him on X in @BrianBobal and Instagram @BrianBobalHS.

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