Bruvick, Tartans eye Prep B crown
By: Justin Feil
Though it lost to Allentown, 2-0, Saturday, the Stuart Country Day field hockey team was able to show that it did belong in the Mercer County Tournament final.
The Tartans were able to say what many teams only dream of against undefeated Allentown, and it was nearly a dream start.
"We dominated the first 10 minutes," said Stuart forward Kelly Bruvick. "We had a stroke and missed. We had one ball on the goal line.
"It was almost exactly the same team we played last year. Almost half the (Stuart) team had played against them."
The Tartans, who slipped to 14-3, were not intimidated by Allentown’s unbeaten record or the fact that when the two teams met in last year’s MCT, the Redbirds came out on top, 1-0. Stuart held up its No. 2 seeding this year by beating Hightstown, 2-0, Thursday as Bruvick assisted on Sam Hackney’s winning goal and added an insurance goal of her own. That set up the finals rematch.
"We knew they were good and knew what we had to do," Bruvick said. "We played really well against Hightstown so we were coming in off a good game.
"We were really excited. We didn’t have anything to lose. They have to try to be Mercer County champs. I don’t think we were intimidated at all."
Certainly by the way the Tartans started there was no backing down from Allentown. Stuart also played well at the defensive end, save for two goals in the final three minutes of the first half. Tartans goalkeeper Christa Goeke made four saves to keep the Tartans in the game. Stuart just couldn’t make it any tighter despite its pressure-producing start.
"We had a lot of corners," Bruvick said. "Their goalie had to make a couple good saves. We had the stroke. We had a lot of shots on goal. We had breakaways. I’m not sure they’ve faced that before. We had a lot of balls coming into the top of the circle. We made them play defense."
The showdown of the county’s top teams will help both for their respective state tournaments, though the Tartans don’t seem to have as hard a road. Stuart is the top seed for the Prep B tournament. They host No. 4 Ranney 3 p.m. Wednesday.
"Other than Mo-Beard, we played everybody in it," Bruvick said. "We beat Pennington and Ranney, both like 6-0. I think we’re pretty confident."
The Tartans saw their 11-game winning streak snapped Saturday, but it won’t take any momentum from them.
"We’re not going to change anything," Bruvick said. "Allentown is just good. They’re obviously the best team in the county. I think Christa had six or seven consecutive shutouts coming in. We still have a lot going for us."
Second in the county, to one of the best teams in the entire state, isn’t so shabby. And by week’s end the disappointment of not making it an even closer game can be erased with a Prep B crown.
"We’re not going to see anybody close to as good as them in states," Bruvick said. "It was good for us to play them before next week."