Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week

Hun’s Giordano saves close wins

By: Justin Feil
   Chris Giordano has not had many relaxing days this spring. Such is life as goalie for the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team, which carries a new look this year.
   Gone are stars from when Giordano was a freshman back-up goalie, like his brother Brian, who left as the Raiders all-time leading scorer, and Tim Raschdorf, a current Syracuse men’s team member or even last year’s leading scorer, midfielder Leo Stinson.
   "In past years, we relied on the offense to come up big," said Giordano, who is a junior. "Now, the defense is going to win games. That’s the way it should be. If we play a good game and the offense plays a good game, we’ll win."
   Last week was a perfect example, as well as a prime example of why there are no relaxing times for Giordano. In a Mid-Atlantic Prep League matchup with Hill last Tuesday, he faced an astounding 38 shots and managed to stop 29 of them for a 9-8 Hun win.
   "I talked to my brother the night before and said that we haven’t beaten them since he was a sophomore," Giordano said. "They’re a pretty underrated team on our schedule. Hill gets overlooked but they always have a solid team. It was great to get a win against them."
   The very next night, he stopped 23 shots to thwart rival Princeton Day School, 10-7, in a Bianchi Division game played at Princeton University. Last Friday, he faced 25 quality shots and stopped 17 of them for a 9-8 win over St. Joseph’s in another Bianchi showdown. It was the third game this season that Hun has won, 9-8, in the closing seconds.
   "Those are the best for us to win," Giordano said. "It’s definitely not easy. Being in that position, you’ve worked so hard to get in position like that. It’s hard to lose. It’s awesome to win."
   Chris Giordano is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   "Chris is playing great," said Hun head coach Eric Kemp, whose squad lost, 15-10 to MAPL opponent Peddie on Monday. "Without him, I don’t know if we win any of them."
   But with Giordano’s strong play, Hun is 6-3 after knocking off Notre Dame, 17-11, Wednesday. Giordano didn’t face as many shots against the Irish, but he can expect plenty of challenges from West Windsor-Plainsboro North 4 p.m. today.
   "We’ve been outshot every game by every opponent," Kemp said. "We’re young. We start three freshmen in the midfield. Because we’re young in the midfield, and we have a new offense, he’s the heart of it all. He’s the heart of the team."
   Typically at the end of Raider games, Giordano’s heart is working overtime so that Hun will not have to.
   "I thought that St. Joe’s game was going to go into overtime," he said. "You let one goal in and it could mean the game. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an overtime game. That could be pretty nerve-wracking to know the next goal you give up could lose it."
   More often this season, Giordano’s found a way to win games for the Raiders. In addition to the signals he sounds out with his play, he’s developing into more of a leader for the squad.
   "Last year, if I had a bad game, they’d just tell me not to worry about it because I was a sophomore," Giordano recalled. "As a junior, you take more of a leadership role. I see the younger kids looking up. You have to take a leadership role. Zach (Trent) is our only captain and there are only three seniors so kids have started looking to the juniors."
   In Giordano, who also plays for the Hun football team, they have a model worker.
   "From a coaching standpoint, he’s very coachable," Kemp said. "He tries to implement what you teach him. His footwork has gotten better every game. He’s fundamentally very sound. He’s a two-sport star and he plays with a lot of heart at both."
   Giordano has tried to quickly pick up the pointers from the Raiders’ first-year head coach, and he feels that with every game he and the defense have been improving.
   "Earlier in the season, Coach Kemp worked with me a lot," Giordano said. "It helped a lot with my stance and positioning. I’m trying to communicate more with the defense. And a big part of our defense is clearing the ball. We have to be able to do that. Every possession has to count."
   With Giordano in goal, the opposition has to be thinking the same as Hun has made a habit of playing close games and winning them.
   "We’ve had four out of five that have been one-goal games," Kemp said Monday. "Whenever you win three out of four, that’s because of your goaltending. It’s not like we’re outscoring anybody."
   "You never can think you’re going to beat a team badly," Giordano added. "Then you play down to their level because you don’t try as hard. Going into Friday against St. Joe’s, we knew it was a big game for the Bianchi. Losing to Princeton, we knew we had to do something big."
   Another 9-8 win didn’t make it a relaxing day for Chris Giordano, but he’ll take a win any way it comes. Winning is something he could get used to. All these close games, they might take some time.