Kirnan in middle of Hun win

Senior helps Raider girls’ lacrosse top South in opener

By: Justin Feil
   In front and behind her, Katie Kirnan has new faces this season.
   That makes her job in the middle all the more important to the Hun girls’ lacrosse team.
   "We lost six or seven seniors," Kirnan said. "All of them started. Not only did we lose a lot of our defense and goalie, but we also lost Bis (Fries) who spearheaded our attack.
   "I think we’ll have an exciting year. We have a lot of young girls who are stepping up."
   Until the younger players adjust fully to the varsity level, the Hun midfield will take the early lead behind veterans like Kirnan, who had five goals in the Raiders’ 12-6 season-opening win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on Saturday.
   "The scoring was pretty spread out," noted Kirnan, one of six different Hun players to score. "A lot of girls stepped up. We were happy."
   Besides Kirnan, Mary Stinson added a pair of goals. Stinson too is a senior midfielder.
   "Most of our midfield is back," Kirnan said. "Mary and I and junior Liz Marino are back. Our midfield wasn’t hurt too much by the seniors leaving. It was definitely mostly our attack our defense."
   The defense and attack looked good in its debut as well. The defense limited the Pirates to 13 shots and goalkeeper Deb Chuang made seven saves in her debut. Addie Godfrey had two goals and two assists in her first varsity game. Also scoring for Hun was Steph Arditle, Claire Halliday and Melissa Marino. They helped fill in for the graduation losses of Fries and Ashley Wycoff, Hun’s top two scorers from a year ago, both who graduated.
   "I think we’re fine," said Kirnan, whose team was scheduled to play Stuart Country Day on Monday. "I kind of hope this happens, that the scoring is spread out. I think it’s better for the team. When you count on one or two players, it puts a lot of pressure on them. I’m not saying anything negative against Bis and Ashley, but it’s nice to know everyone can score and contribute on both ends. I hope everyone keeps scoring. I think that will help our team out this season."
   Saturday’s start helped alleviate any concerns that the Raiders had about replacing a combined 194 points from Fries and Wycoff. Hun had been encouraged by some pre-season success, but until the game, hadn’t seen it in an actual varsity contest.
   Said Kirnan, "I was talking about it with my dad Saturday morning, and he was saying that basically the midfield, you and Mary are like the returning goal-scorers because Bis and Ashley left. I knew it in the back of my head. It wasn’t anything I really thought about it because we had a really great spring preseason trip.
   "We went to Florida. We lost two, but we won two. One of the teams we beat was Lawrenceville. In that game, the scoring was really spread out. It made us feel good, even though it was a preseason game. Having that confidence helped us get ready."
   Kirnan has tried to do her part to keep the team moving in the right direction since its promising preseason. Whether that means sharing a tip, or scoring five goals as she did Saturday, she’s happy to help create another successful season.
   "It’s kind of part of being a senior," she said. "You automatically have more of a leadership role. Each of the seniors have experienced that. The younger players have helped. They’re not afraid to ask questions and make a mistake. When you have that attitude, your success is so great. They’re so willing to learn.
   "The cool thing is that a lot of young girls have stepped up," she added. "They’re not afraid to ask questions. They’re willing to put themselves out there. I think we all feed off that. I’m trying to think about the starting lineup and we only have two freshmen starting, Addie and Danica Roskos. We have a number of sophomores."
   While some of Kirnan’s classmates chose not to return for their senior season, Kirnan couldn’t pass up one more season. It will likely be her final organized one before she continues her field hockey career at Cornell University next fall.
   "I just look at it as another chance to represent Hun and another year to play with the girls and Mrs. (Provenzano)," Kirnan said. "It’s such a great feeling to represent your school. There are so many parts about playing sports for Hun that I’ll miss, I’d hate to miss out on my last chance to help out."
   WW-P South wouldn’t have minded if Kirnan skipped out on this season. The Pirates were right there without Kirnan’s contributions. Megan Odachowski scored twice and Danielle Martinez made nine saves for WW-P South, which looks to build on its season opener when it plays at Hopewell Valley today.
   "I liked that we had some really nice connections," said Pirates coach Kris Javick. "We had some nice midfield connections and we were working the ball well. I like that our goals were spread among a lot of our players. That shows we have depth. That’s one of the keys to the season."
   Besides Odachowski, the Pirates had goals from Lauren Fucetola, Rose Dzugan, Hilary Freed and Alexa Suarez. Another four players had assists. Javick is hoping that in the coming games, the Pirates can put together more of those moments with a few improvements.
   "I think just giving a consistent effort the whole game," she said. "We played in spurts. We’d play well for 10 minutes, then step back for five minutes. Just playing a full, consistent 60-minute game will help.
   "We can definitely build on (Saturday). We saw all the right ingredients. It’s just putting it all together for a whole game and getting them to stick together for the whole season."
   It’s what every team is looking for in the early going. There were signs of it in the Pirates’ play. Katie Kirnan and the new-look Raider girls’ lacrosse team were happy to see more than just signs, but a real effectiveness to their effort in an opening-win Saturday.
   "It was definitely a good start," Kirnan said. "We were hoping for that."