West Essex is the 2024 FH Team of the Year

By Brian Bobal | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Given the departures by the Class of 2023, it wouldn’t have been insane to think West Essex might take a step back in 2024. After all, how many teams can withstand the loss of three All-State players, another All-Group defender and five overall starters? Head coach Jill Cosse already needed to find someone to fill those roles only to get another dose of adversity on a sunny summer day. Daniella Bartley, who was slated to be a starter on the back end, suffered an ACL injury and was potentially gone for the season. “I remember sitting on the beach and going, ‘oh my god, if this didn’t just get harder,” she said. “I don’t know what’s in front of us.” In true West Essex fashion, the team just brushed all of it off because it’s built differently. The Knights had the steady and reliable trio of Ava Russo, Sophia Sisco and Adelaide Minnella to keep things afloat while the rest of the lineup sorted itself out. Those three were all All-State honorees in 2023. For the team to maintain its tradition of excellence, hope would be placed in a large group of sophomores and freshmen to rise to the challenge. “We put an awful lot of pressure on (Russo, Sisco and Minnella) to hold down the fort until the younger kids could get their their bearing,” Cosse said. “But we never gave up faith. So, I am immensely proud and impressed by the immense amounts of growth I saw from the kids this season.” Cosse didn’t exactly allow them to tip toe their way into the season, they were thrown right into the deep end. In the first three weeks of the season, the team squared off with four of the stronger out-of-state programs in the country in Episcopal (PA), Notre Dame de Namur (PA), New Trier Winnetka (IL) and Kinkaid (TX). The Knights went 3-1 in those games and received a big jolt to its lineup. Remarkably, Bartley was able to return and did so in the victory over Kinkaid. West Essex went 15-2 after her return, secured its sixth consecutive state title along the way. The Knights held the No. 1 ranking in New Jersey for nine of 11 weeks, including the first eight in a row, finished as No. 1 and as a result has been named the 2024 field hockey Team of the Year. “I always tell the freshmen when they make varsity they have one month to be freshmen, and then when we make the turn in October, they need to start playing like sophomores,” Cosse said. “If we all take that weight and bear it equally, we’re going to be in a good place to finish the season.” Delaney Farrell and Tessa Delvescovo, two freshmen, jumped into prominent roles on the offensive side of the game and combined for 24 goals and 16 assists. Julia Conforti upped her goal total from six as a freshman last fall to 20 to go along with nine assists. Fellow sophomore Alex Agostini became an integral defensive piece on the left side of the midfield. Another sophomore stepped up in the cage where Abby Zanelli dominated for years. Then the veterans did what they do best. Russo was one of the most stingy defenders in the state. Sisco was one of the top midfielders and set career-highs across the board with 29 goals, 46 assists and 104 points. Minnella also had a career year with 44 goals, 36 assists and 124 points. As for Bartley, her injury limited her ability to pivot, so she had to play on the right side of the defense, forcing Jillian Breslin to switch to the left. “It would have been so easy for her to throw in the towel,” Cosse said of Bartley. “What a life lesson she kind of individually gave everybody when she stepped on the field. I think for her presence, it was much more about her talking or communication. The power she gave in that spot, gave a lot of confidence to the people around her, and for what she lost in her footwork and speed, we gained in her and the power of her leadership.” They became the biggest example of a team, everyone finding a way to contribute, and they got the results they were looking for. Of the team’s 25 games, eight were against nationally-ranked teams and it went 5-3 in those matchups. West Essex had one last hiccup on the eve of the state tournament with a 3-2 loss on the road to Camden Catholic. That snapped a seven-game winning streak, which featured a victory over Montclair in the Essex County final. That prompted a switch from a 2-3-2-3 system to a 3-4-3 at the start of the playoffs. In five tournament games, West Essex outscored its opponents, 24-0, to win the Group 2 title once again with a victory over Point Pleasant Boro. “You almost want to pinch yourself for what the kids did,” Cosse said. “It’s rare that you can see kids rise to such an immense challenge and we held it together. I was so proud of them. They never let the outside influence jump them. They never let someone intimidate them.” Despite all of the preseason questions and uncertainty, West Essex pulled itself together and bested last year’s win total by one. Some questions will arise again once August comes around and the team bids adieu to Russo, Sisco and more seniors. But West Essex will continue to just brush it off and build again as it’s done for decades.

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West Essex Regional High School Athletics

WEST ESSEX IS THE 2024 FH TEAM OF THE YEAR

BRIAN BOBAL

nj.com | 12/9/2024