Harpel found niche as scorer for Knights
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Olivia Harpel needed a couple of games to figure out just what the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls lacrosse team needed from her.
The sophomore midfielder opened the season with two goals against Allentown High and three goals against Princeton High. The Knights needed more as they lost both games.
”It goes without saying, but I hate losing,” Harpel said. “I know our team hated losing those games. Clearly it was a slow start. It wasn’t bad. We picked our heads up and Coach (Bernadette) Campbell and (Beth) Serughetti and (Julia) Liliendoll said keep your heads up and learn from this.
”We practiced what we needed to work on. I think we found a way to work hard and work in the younger girls and I think as the season went, we kept getting stronger.”
Harpel came off a good freshman year, but she learned quickly that the Knights needed more from her in her second varsity season. They got more as well.
For the next 19 games, Harpel never had less than four points in any game.
”The team started slow, and personally I was the same way,” Harpel said. “It took me a couple games to get into it and get used to my teammates and maybe work out some things after not playing with the team.
”I think it just took a few games to get my feet under me. It wasn’t like all of a sudden things clicked, it was just working with newer teammates and finding how we flow together helped me find what my role was. Once I figured that out, it was easier for me to be a part of the flow and play my best for the team.”
Harpel produced some of her best games in the Knights’ biggest games as they avenged both of their early season losses. She had nine goals, an assist and 11 ground balls in a win over Princeton. She had three goals, three assists and seven ground balls in a narrow win over WW-P South. She scored eight goals and stood out with her all-around play as the Knights won their first Mercer County Tournament championship. She amassed 19 points to lift WW-P North into its first North Jersey, Group III state final.
Harpel had impressed in her first varsity season with 67 goals and 12 assists, and she made a huge jump to score 109 goals and record 20 assists to go with 135 ground balls. She ranked in the top seven in goals in the state and second in ground balls. The state does not keep track of draw controls, but she also would have ranked among the state’s best. Her overall play helped WW-P North steadily improve to finish the season 16-6.
”Her all-around play in the midfield stood out,” said Serughetti. “I can’t really say it was her scoring, her ground balls, her draw controls, it was her all-around play. She was tops in draw controls, top 10 in ground balls and in goals. She had about 140 ground balls. This season, she had a lot more assists than she did last season. She’s seeing the field better and able to connect with teammates better.”
Olivia Harpel is the Princeton Packet Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year.
”I think it was an amazing season as a whole,” Harpel said. “I wouldn’t change much about it. I think the parts I remember are being with my teammates and the silly things, the bus rides, the psyches, and clearly we had some big accomplishments and we put a lot of work into our season. But I remember as much off the field as on the field because our team was so much fun to be with.
”Everyone knows we started off as a young team. We lost a lot of seniors. Going into it, I just hoped we would be able to play together and really I didn’t know (what to expect). I thought as long as we worked hard and worked together, it would all be OK. I think it worked out for us.”
It worked in part because of Harpel doing so much more than she had a year ago. After graduating a dozen seniors, and returning just four players with starting experience, Harpel knew there would be an increased role, but it would have been hard to anticipate her making this big of a jump.
”This year, she was a more complete player,” Serughetti said. “She’s a very talented lacrosse player in general, but she’s really taken her game to the next level from last year to this year. She’s no longer a one-dimensional player. She sees the field so well and she’s more of a leader. Maybe that year of maturity made a huge difference.
”She’s such a tremendous player, I can’t say I was surprised (at her improvement),” she added. “But as good as she was last year, I felt it was still a big jump. I was so proud of her to be able to do it in one year. She’s one of the hardest working lacrosse players I know. When somebody puts in that much time and effort, you can’t be shocked by it. She’s one of those very deserving players.”
Harpel is aware of her statistics after receiving so much attention in the post-season, but she’s never been one to focus on where she stood in the scoring column. She’s just tried to bring the Knights whatever they needed to win.
”When you’re on the field with a team that’s working hard and you can work together, it’s easier to find that and be aggressive to cage and score goals and make assists and win draw controls,” Harpel said. “Everyone has a role and fits in the team differently. This year, I was part of the offense and the numbers really don’t matter when you’re completely engaged in the game and playing your best, those things just come naturally.”
More than her goals and assists, which both made tremendous jumps, Harpel was proud of the way her overall play improved across the board, and the multiple ways she could help the team in the midfield.
”That comes with finding myself and maybe this year being a little more of a leader because we were a younger team,” she said. “The cool thing about the stats doubling is my ground balls more than doubled. The papers don’t account for is draw controls, but they more than doubled for me this year too. Ground balls and draw controls, those are a possession thing.
”It’s all about finding myself these two years. We had great leaders last year, and this year maybe because this team was young and I thought I could step up and be more of a leader, that maybe helped me too.”
The Knights needed leadership to reach the top of the county, and Harpel was one of the players that provided the intangible.
”Her, Ana (Lucia Dellien) and Devin (Brakel) were my three consistent starters from last year,” Serughetti said. “She took that challenge and did it so well by being a game leader, by showing it with her skills and speed and with all the heart she puts into it. And this year, being more vocal was key. She’s competitive and she loves it. This year she really showed that.”
Along with an increased role and responsibility comes the added attention from other teams. Opponents were keenly aware of Harpel’s ability, and tried a number of tactics, including face-guarding her, a sign of respect that wasn’t bestowed on her last year.
”The best part about it is it forces any player to work harder and engage in how to find the ball and how not to be taken out of a game,” Harpel said. “For me personally, that was cool to learn this year. And it was cool to learn that my teammates were there for me when I needed it.”
Serughetti had discussed the possibility that defenses would give Harpel more attention this year, but nothing seemed to slow her.
”Putting one person on Olivia is not going to stop her,” Serughetti said. “She can maintain possession when there’s two or three girls on her. I don’t know if there was any team that was really successful at stopping her.”
Harpel won’t be making life any easier on teams next year. She figures to continue to improve with a year-round devotion to lacrosse, even though she plans to continue to play field hockey in the fall and run winter track.
”Lacrosse is my sport,” Harpel said, “but I like to be running around. It’s fun.”
Olivia Harpel’s development from her first to second year of high school was fun for the Knights to watch. It helped WW-P North reach new heights in the county and state, and raised expectations even further for the future.
”To think the jump would be as high next year as this year, that would be insane,” Serughetti said. “We just hope she can rise to the next level. I generally expected her to jump to the next level, but she went beyond that this year.
”We knew this year would be a struggle in that we lost so many starters. Because of Olivia’s amazing lacrosse play, that helped us maintain a higher level that I didn’t expect us to be at. We started 0-2 and weren’t playing as a team. It was largely because of Olivia and how she was able to produce that kept us at a high level and allowed everyone to develop.”

