By: Bob Nuse
BLAIRSTOWN – While the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team finished one tally short of its ultimate team goal of winning a prep state championship, there was no reason for the Tartans to walk away from Sunday’s championship game feeling badly.
Despite the 1-0 loss to The Hun School, the Tartans still finished the season with a 10-2-4 record. Quite an accomplishment for a team that came into the season with several holes to fill after winning the state title a year ago.
"I’m very pleased," Stuart coach Missy Bruvick said. "It was great to come back here and play in this game again. This was the first time all season that we were shut out and a lot of credit for that goes to Hun’s defense. They played a great game. But as far as our whole season, I’m proud of the girls for all we accomplished. It was a great year."
Prior to Sunday’s loss, the only other defeat the Tartans had suffered this year was to Lawrenceville in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals. But Stuart came back to avenge that loss with a win in the state tournament semifinals. That set up the showdown with Hun, a team Stuart had tied 1-1 in the regular season.
The Tartans had an excellent chance to score turned away in the first half on a great defensive play by Hun’s Carly Sobray. The Raiders scored on a goal by Christine Czarnecki early in the second half, and an apparent goal in the closing seconds by Stuart was ruled no score when the official deemed the shot was too high.
"I did not agree with the call, but I asked the officials to consult with each other, which they did and they said it was no goal," Bruvick said. "That’s all you can ask them to do. (Hun’s) goal was a good, clean goal. I thought they played well and got some opportunities. We had that one great chance in the first half and they made a great play on it."
With the season Stuart had, it was going to take a great play or two to beat the Tartans. Hun made a couple of great plays Sunday, which is what you need to do to beat a champion.
And even though Stuart left the field with the second-place trophy Sunday, the Tartans still had every right to walk away feeling like champions.
