Hun’s Appelt hopes to follow in sister’s footsteps
By: Justin Feil
The comparisons to her older sister are bound to come, and Sarah Appelt isn’t quite hiding from them.
For one, the junior midfielder wears No. 19 for The Hun School girls’ lacrosse team, the same number that older sister Amy now sports for the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Elite national team. And Sarah Appelt is working on becoming as big a threat as her sister has been throughout her career.
She would love to follow in the footsteps of Amy, who was named the Tewaaraton Trophy winner as the nation’s top women’s lacrosse player after leading the University of Virginia to the NCAA Championship right here in Princeton in 2004. Amy Appelt is the fifth all-time leading scorer in NCAA history and leaves a clear vision for where Sarah Appelt would like to be five years down the road.
"It is my goal," said the Hun newcomer. "It is a hard position to follow, but I do my own thing. I get tips from her every now and then.
"She’s like my No. 1 fan and No. 1 supporter. She helps me through everything. If I have a bad day shooting, she’ll tell me how to fix it. She’s always there for me."
Appelt needed little advice from her big sister after putting on a scoring clinic of her own to help Hun stay perfect with a 20-12 win over Stuart Country Day on Thursday. Appelt had five goals and three assists in the victory, including four goals in the first half as the Raiders built a 13-5 lead.
"I heard Stuart was going to be tough, and we came out ready to play," Appelt said. "The first half, we had it. It seems to be our thing, in the beginning of the second half we get that lead and we just think we have it. But little do we know they can come back as fast as they do. There’s something we have to work on the beginning of the second half, not letting them come back like they did."
Stuart was led by a pair of big goal scorers of its own. Elizabeth Bucklee had five goals and Caroline Passano added four goals. The Tartans stayed even with the Raiders in the second half, 7-7.
"That was more of what we were looking for," said Stuart head coach Sara Wagner, whose team slipped to 2-2 with a 11-5 loss to Princeton Day School on Saturday. "They’re quick. Hun has a really quick attack and so we don’t take anything away from them. We’ve only played two games and that was the quickest attack we’ve seen so the defense had to make a huge adjustment. We were shell-shocked in the first five minutes. And then we were able to make some adjustments."
The Tartans continue to adjust to playing without their leading scorer of a year ago, Kelly Bruvik, who was sidelined with a knee injury suffered in their home opener. Bruvik had four goals in the first half of that game before injuring her knee.
"It’s an adjustment," Wagner said. "It’s toughest on our transition. We have goal scorers and she’s certainly a goal scorer. But I think she’s just that big target in the middle, always has her stick up and is able to make the kinds of passes you need in transition. Plus, she plays great defense. The transition’s the toughest part. But we came along in the second half. We started to play better."
Appelt and the Raiders made sure they were too far ahead for Tartans to catch up. It was Hun’s own ability to score on transition goals that led to their big lead.
"I think on the transitions I have a lot of the older, experienced players," said Hun head coach Lauren Provenzano, whose team improved to 3-0 with a 17-5 win over George on Saturday. "I think they know where they need to move. It did break down a few times. I’m not completely pleased with it, but there were a few that I thought were really good. I’ve got more experienced players Corley (Bell), Bridget (Stinson), Sarah Appelt obviously is a huge contributor to my team. Obviously her sister is very good so I think it’s kind of rubbing off. So it’s good. The girls know where they need to be. I think that helps in transition.
"We work on that every day," she added. "They see each other a lot in front of the cage, my attack (does), and we haven’t had to do many plays. A lot of what they do is freelancing. I do think if they practice hard and continue, we could do very well this season. It’s fundamentals and making everything click. So far, I’m pleased."
It certainly has helped the Raiders to have some athletes like Stinson, who had three goals and three assists Thursday. Stinson has returned and filled in a larger role for the Raiders. Hun has also added some new threats to the mix, like freshman Emma Malloy who had five goals against Stuart.
"Emma did well. She’s aggressive," Provenzano said. "The girls, they’re all aggressive. They girls get along really well. The team dynamic is phenomenal. That’s one of the things we try to encourage here. We don’t have problems on our team in terms of getting along and I think that carries out on the field, which I think is important."
As captain, Appelt plays a role in that togetherness. She brings more than a family legacy. It didn’t take her long to establish herself as a leader even as she adjusted to a new school and a new position. She has moved from low attack to midfield to be more of an all-field presence for the Raiders.
"She came in fresh to the school," Provenzano said. "We started practicing pretty early in the season and she demonstrated herself skill-wise and with her personality. The girls really respect her and look up to her. I think they were just ready to follow her. I think a lot of them try to emulate her with her skills, which I think is necessary on any team. You always want a player like that to look up to. She came in and found her spot and I’m really pleased with her. She’s a great kid. I’m thrilled that she’s here."
Particularly because Appelt knows a thing or two about creating success on the lacrosse field. Last year, she was a junior at Garden City (N.Y.) High, which went 20-0 and won the Class B state championship. She is repeating her junior year at Hun, following her brother Will.
"My brother came and he loved it," Appelt said. "So then I had to try it. And I love it.
"It’s a big transition from public school to private. The lacrosse is the easiest. It’s what I looked forward to. It got me through the whole beginning of the year."
Appelt also played in the basketball program for Hun, but she is most comfortable on the lacrosse field. And in coming to Hun, she is taking the next step toward living up to some monster comparisons.
"Her sister was obviously phenomenal," Provenzano said. "She played for UVA. She was a nationally ranked player. Sarah wants to be a player like that. She works all the time. She’s down here shooting all the time. She makes my attack click. She takes control of it, being a captain. The girls respect her, I think, not just for her talent, but also for her voice and presence on the field. She’s integral for me, and other teams know that too so we have to kind of be aware of it."
Appelt has been a recognized name in lacrosse for years. In her first year at Hun, Sarah Appelt is building her own legacy with the Raider girls’ lacrosse team.
"I’m pretty confident in the rest of the season," she said. "We’ve got a big schedule coming up. We’ve got Lawrenceville on Tuesday and George on Saturday. But I think we have it in the bag if we just keep working hard."

