Pingry Edges Immaculate Heart Academy to Capture First State Title

By, David Hashagen

Newark, NJ —

It was the final that, coming into the day, had the most question marks.  Mainly because with the exception of a few no one expected either Pingry or Immaculate Heart to make it through the semifinal round.  But both teams proved that they more than deserved to be at the Prudential Center on Monday as Pingry captured their first state title 2-1.

Both teams came out flying in the first period putting up a combined 25 shots on goal in the first frame.  However, it was the goaltenders that were the stars early as senior Kate Niccolai of Pingry and freshman Delaney Cozine of IHA both made outstanding saves in the first period.

The deadlock was broken early by the number 5 seed when senior Charlotte Diemar scored on a great feed by Lizzie Nikitin for her 25th goal of the season.

The Blue Eagles were very quick to respond in kind when freshman Gianna Butto got control on a bouncing puck with a backhand shot that just cleared the shoulder of Niccolai and into the top corner. Gabriella Capano and Elisabeth Tralongo provided the assists on the goal which looked to right the ship for the number 3 seed.

However Big Blue did not let the comeback last very long. With about half the period gone, Pingry sprung a 2-on-0 past the IHA defense.  But it was the senior talisman Diemar who took it herself and buried a great snapshot past Cozine to make the score 2-1.

In the second half of the second period and for the entirety of the third period, IHA continued to pound away trying from every angle and distance to beat Niccolai.  However the senior lived up to the Spiderman mask and was able to snare 23 shots in the final 2 periods to hold the lead and earn Big Blue their first state title.

The final finished off an amazing run for Coach Rich Fuchs and his squad, who after gliding past Westfield, beat the odds and knocked off #4 Oak Knoll and #1 Morristown-Beard in overtime to make it to Prudential Center.  And for Charlotte Diemar it capped off a fantastic high school career with 80 goals over 4 varsity seasons.  The Senior led the team with 9 goals in the tournament and finished with 26 goals and 34 points on the season.

“It honestly just feels amazing, cause everyone doubted us going into it and we really proved them all wrong,” Diemar said postgame.  And in a historic season for Pingry, Diemar, Niccolai and the rest of the squad certainly did that.

Cover Photo Credit: Jennie Slosarik