Boys Soccer
Pascack Hills boys soccer was looking to rebound after a disappointing season last year. This year began on the wrong foot. A three-game losing streak was finally broken up yesterday with a 4-3 win at Cresskill. Senior Joe Pietrunti has led the team in scoring so far. He added a goal in both the win against Cresskill and the opener against Glen Ridge. Senior goaltender Logan Litt had seven saves in Saturday’s game and the team looks to continue the momentum from their win into Monday’s game against Pascack Valley and further as division play begins.
Girls Soccer
Girls soccer has had a truncated version of the boys’ start. They lost their opener 1-0 at Indian Hills but had a come-back on Thursday and walloped Dwight-Morrow 7-0. Senior Sophie Pinkwater and sophomore Keira Hickey have both led the team’s offense with two goals each. New senior goaltender Sophia Paxinopolous has recorded 11 saves and her first win, in a shutout no less, in the first two games of the season. As with the boys, girls soccer has their next game Monday at home against Pascack Valley, which will be live-streamed on the PH Athletics YouTube channel at 4:00 P.M., before beginning division play.
Girls Tennis
Girls tennis is the only fall sports team with a winning record through the first two weeks of the season. Their three wins have all come against divisional opponents, giving them the early lead in their league and extending their winning streak in the division to 34 matches. Their singles leader is junior Kanishka Prassanna. She has three singles wins along with other juniors Camilla Ambrocio and Stephanie Yeung, who each have two wins so far. Junior Carla Monaco and senior Jordan Lewis have combined for two doubles wins along with the senior duo of Sam Minneatian and Abby Javer. Hills are the favorites to win the division this year as they have dominated every year since the realignment in 2020.
Volleyball
Volleyball is expected to have a great season this year, returning all but three years from the 19-5 team last year. Their expectations were bolstered by a close straight-set win over Tenafly in their opener, but their momentum has been dashed by two straight losses to divisional opponents including a big upset last Friday against Mahwah. They will try to regroup through the next week as they take on River Dell on Monday. Seniors Gianna Juliano and Lily Kelly have led the team in kills while fellow senior Kasey Feheley-Shell has kept the ball in the air with 34 digs.
Football
Pascack Hills Football had high hopes for a new era after two straight division championships. They began with a major road game at Mahwah. The Thunderbirds held senior quarterback Connor Ohnikian to just 70 yards through the air and 151 total. The only saving grace in this game was the drive led by sophomore quarterback Dren Bauta. Bauta passed for 79 yards and threw a touchdown, the only score of the 18-7 loss, to Connor Ohnikian, who moved to wide receiver for the drive. This gave Hills some hope heading into their home opener last Friday night against Westwood. The Cardinals are the reigning Group 2 and division champions and had lost their North Jersey-leading 14-game winning streak in a 21-7 loss at Pascack Valley. In their matchup against Pascack Hills, they controlled it the whole way. A 27-7 loss saw Hills drop to 0-2 as Connor Ohnikian was again held to just 29 yards passing and 75 yards rushing. Ohnikian scored the only touchdown of the game for Hills, but an eight-yard rush late in the game was all the Broncos could muster to get on the board. Hills goes to Teaneck for a Saturday non-division game next week while they get back to division play on Friday the 27th against Ramsey.
