Tartans in position for challengers
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Katie Grant knew that her Stuart Country Day School field hockey team still had talent.
The second-year head coach just had to figure out where to put it all.
It was a struggle in the first couple of weeks as the Tartans opened the season just 5-4 after losing only one game all of last year en route to winning the Mercer County Tournament and tying for the Prep A state championship.
Lately it’s come together for the Tartans just in time for the tournaments again. They won their 11th straight game, 5-0, over Ewing in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament on Saturday. Jackie Gaudioso Radvany had a pair of goals — one in the first 30 seconds — and an assist for the third-seeded Tartans. Maddie Copeland, Kristi Hallowell and Sarah Schulte also scored.
”Honestly, I think it was a matter of figuring out the right positions for everybody,” said Grant, whose 16-4 team was scheduled to host No. 6 Steinert on Monday. “We did lose a lot from last year. We knew we had enough people to fill in those holes. It was a matter of finding the right positions and who meshed with whom and what lines worked.”
The county tournament is part of a hectic week. The Tartans also will play at No. 2 seed Peddie 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Prep A semifinals.
”They’re focused on taking each game as it comes,” Grant said. “I’m trying to encourage that. I think they understand you can’t look past anyone. Other teams have nothing to lose. You can’t expect any team to be a walkover.”
Hun won for the second straight day in tournament play. The Raiders captured a win in the Prep A state tournament on strokes after finishing tied with Princeton Day School, 1-1, after regulation and two overtimes on Friday. Saturday, Hun opened the MCT with a 1-0 win over Steinert on a goal by Addie Godfrey. The No. 8 seeds improved to 8-6-2 and will play at No. 1 Robbinsville in the quarterfinals.
PDS kept its season alive with a 2-0 win over Hightstown in the MCT on Saturday. Sydney Jenkins scored both goals for the seventh-seeded Panthers, who improved to 7-10 and advanced to play at No. 2 Notre Dame.
Goalies were kept plenty busy in a pair of MCT losses. Moriah Akrong made 17 saves, but the Princeton offense couldn’t get the equalizer in a 1-0 loss to Notre Dame. Jackie Silva stopped 14 shots in West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s 4-0 loss to Allentown. WW-P South had its first round game against Hopewell Valley moved to Monday due to poor field conditions.
The county and state contenders know that Stuart is still the defending champion until unseated. The Tartans have a new look, even for teams that played them during the first nine games of the season.
”One game we tried what we’re doing now,” Grant said, “and it was like, this is what works best. They do have good skills. You can’t perform best if you’re not in the right position.”
The Tartans moved Schulte up and Courtney Alexander into the center midfield. Schulte had another goal against Ewing, and Alexander is a senior who has adjusted well to her new role. Alexander had an assist in the win over Ewing.
”She’s stepping up, and she’s getting better every game,” Grant said. “The middle is tough. It’s a different position. There’s not one way you can force a player. She’s really been learning a lot since the day I put her there. At first she was a little nervous. It’s a big role. She was nervous at first, but willing to take the challenge and she’s been doing really well.”
If Stuart can use its midfield to connect its back to Gaudioso Radvany and the capable attack, the Tartans are tough to stop. The North Carolina-bound Gaudioso Radvany is one player who did not end up changing spots.
”In the end, I realized she needs to be up front,” Grant said. “It’s important for her to be front line.”
Especially now in tournament time when teams need big goals from big goal scorers. Stuart is still hoping its best field hockey is ahead of it. They are trying to limit their lapses and play more like the team that has won 11 straight than the one that lost four of its first nine.
”We have our moments,” Grant said. “There’s also moments where we go in and out. We’ll go back to old habits. Sometimes we’ll go for those nice, short passes and we look really good. Then sometimes we just look for that long pass. We started out fine against Ewing. Then we had 10 minutes of just hitting the ball to no one.”
Against Ewing, that lapse didn’t hurt the Tartans. They know better as they get deeper into tournament play. Stuart doesn’t expect any more easy wins. They had seen Steinert briefly at Play Day in the preseason, and they beat Peddie in an overtime game that was part of the turning point.
”I think they’re confident in themselves in the sense they have skills and they are a good team,” Grant said. “They’re not walking up there like, we’re defending champs and we’re going to win it again. They know they’re competitive with the top teams.”
Getting comfortable in the right positions has the Stuart field hockey team where it wants to be — in position to make a run at another pair of championships.

