Delainey Ross and the Hopewell Valley girls soccer team know what their identity is. The Bulldogs are hard to beat. It’s a trait that has left coaches around the Colonial Valley Conference both flummoxed and in admiration with Hopewell in the midst of a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) and on its way to the number one seed in the both the CVC Tournament and Central Group III sectional playoffs. “We decided that we wanted to win all our games and get back to that Hopewell pride and be on top,” said Ross, who has five goals and five assists. “It took us a while, but we are finally here. We just got to keep climbing, we got to keep moving up and we’re going to win those games.” Ross is a key cog in the Bulldog’s resurgence after a couple of middling seasons by their standards. The junior is a tone setter, a ball winner and plays in both boxes. “She’s a huge leader on our team,” veteran coach John McGinley said. “She sets the tone every day at practice, every game. She’s intense, she’s focused, she wants to compete. You can’t ask for more than that and she’s coachable. She wants to win, but she also listens and then she goes out and she performs.” That rubs off on her teammates the way they buckle down defensively. Take last week’s victory over Allentown that secured at least a share of the Colonial Division title for example: Hopewell only had two shots on target — it scored both of them — and in between kept a league-leading eighth cleansheet. “There are so many things I could say about her,” said junior center back Katherine Reinhart. “She always works hard, she’s a really big team player, she’s always positive.” Ross isn’t doing it alone. Reinhart and Clara Mayer have proved to be one of the toughest center back pairings to get past and outside backs Charlotte Barnes and Gianna Azara have held up when put under pressure. Center forward Elizabeth Buchert is third in the CVC in points with 29 (11 goals, 7 assists). “Our defense is amazing,” Ross said. “It’s a strong back. They work for each other, they communicate with each other and they are unstoppable I would say.” But there’s no question who the leader of this hungry group of Bulldogs is. “She sacrifices everything for the team,” McGinley said. “I’ve coached a lot of really good players, but what I love about her is that she’s one of those good players who plays better because she’s so committed and dedicated to the team.” *** The Colonial Division championship will be decided on Tuesday. Hopewell Valley has already clinched at least a share of the title, but needs a win or draw against Robbinsville to capture it outright. If Robbinsville beats Hopewell, it will be co-champ alongside Hopewell. There’s another piece of the puzzle still at play, with Notre Dame visiting Steinert. If ND and Robbinsville both win, there will be tri-champions in the division. *** Also at play is seeding for the CVC Tournament. Tuesday’s games are the final ones that count toward seeding (the pairings are finalized on Wednesday). All 15 teams must participate with first-round games taking place on Saturday. PowerPoints determined the seeding. Here’s how the field stands heading into Tuesday’s matches: 1. Hopewell Valley (18.027); 2. Notre Dame (16.984); 3. Allentown (14.687); 4. Robbinsville (13.958); 5. WW-PS (12.27); 6. Lawrence (11.893); 7. PDS (11.745); 8. Steinert (10.451); 9. Nottingham (9.67); 10. WW-PN (7.958); 11. Princeton High (7.41); 12. Hightstown (6.836); 13. Ewing (5.805); 14. Hamilton West (5.132); 15. Trenton (2.835).