Three stars from Feb. 29

Check out our picks for the three Stars of the Night for each of the state semifinal games played on Thursday, Feb. 28.

NOTE: Stats are reflective of games reported at the time of publishing. If any stats are incorrect, you should ask your coaches to log into njschoolsports and correct them.

THREE STARS

First star: Luke Dickerson, Morris Knolls-Hills

Dickerson’s magical state tournament run continued with a hat trick in the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles’ 6-2 upset of top-seeded Tenafly-Cresskill-Leonia to win the Public Co-op, North sectional championship. Throughout Knolls-Hills’ state tournament run, Dickerson has scored 13 goals and amassed 15 points.

Second star: Northern Highlands’ top line

The top line for the Highlanders made up of Brent Beswick, Vincenzo Capano, and Jake Baratta combined for seven goals and 14 points in its 8-3 victory over Randolph to win the Public, North sectional title. Capano led the charge with four goals and six points, while Beswick also had a hat trick and six points. Baratta followed up with four assists, three of which came during the second period as the Highlanders poured it on the Rams.

Third star: Christian Esposito, Manalapan

Esposito racked up a 35-save shutout to help lead Manalapan to a 1-0 victory over Westfield in the Public, South sectional championship game. In the third period alone Esposito faced 15 shots and was able to stop all of them as the Braves held on to advance to its first ever state championship game.

Donovan Hugel can be reached at dhugel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @donohugel.

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