Tartans fall in state final
By: Bob Nuse
While the season ended with a loss for the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team, there is no denying this season was perhaps the best the school has ever enjoyed.
The Tartans, who dropped a 2-1 decision to Lawrenceville in the state prep tournament championship game on Sunday, finished the year tying a school record with 17 wins. They also won their first outright Mercer County championship, and also shared the Patriot Conference championship with Princeton Day School.
"I told them that they have to reflect, not just on today, but on the whole season," Stuart coach Missy Bruvik said. "It was an amazing season for us. We went 17-1-2, which is the best record we’ve had. I’m very pleased with what they have done. I’m proud of the whole team."
Stuart came up just one win short of what would have been a perfect season. Lawrenceville scored twice in the first half to grab a 2-0 lead. Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany scored with just under 15 minutes left in the second half to pull the Tartans within a goal. And while they had several chances to get even, the goal just never came.
"I thought they were just beating us to the ball in the first half," Bruvik said. "I thought we did a good job of attacking the goal, especially in the second half. I thought Lawrenceville’s midfielders did a super job on us. We had some scoring opportunities in each half and I was real pleased with the way the girls kept battling to the end.
"After playing in the Mercer County final and winning, I thought we would be a little more prepared in terms of what to expect in a championship game."
All season long, Stuart has played like a championship team. Even after losing a solid senior class to graduation, the Tartans managed to put together another incredible season.
"I think after we played South Hunterdon and came away winning 7-1, I felt like we had something special here this year," Bruvik said. "I felt like we had a little more team speed than we had last year. Jaclyn came in as a freshman and was an immediate impact player. Our whole offensive line is back. Our departing seniors will be hard to replace."
Those seniors have done nothing but win during their Stuart careers, and will leave quite a mark on the future of the program.
"Christa Goeke has kept us in more games this year than I can tell you," Bruvik said of her senior goalie. "Margaret Henry was an attack player on the JV and when she came up to the varsity she moved to defense and has been a very good player for us. Alice Murnen came back to us this year after a year away from the school and was a great player in the midfield. Mary Jane Sweetland, Jena Braymiller and Nina Szemis are all players who contributed to the program, so they will be missed."
This remarkable season came on the heels of a year ago, when the Tartans went 17-3, winning the state Prep B and Patriot Conference titles in the process. This was their second straight season with 17 wins. And with a bevy of talented players slated to return next year, chances are years like the last two will be more and more common.
"We have a good middle school program and we have junior camps," Bruvik said. "Any kid who comes to the school, we encourage them to play the sport. And anyone who plays field hockey gets to play. We bring back big game experience each year.
"Our motto all year was ‘Find a Way.’ This was our biggest challenge. We’d been behind 1-0 before, to Notre Dame and to Lawrenceville and we came back and won. Today, we just didn’t get that second goal. But I was proud of the way the girls battled."

