SUPER SAVER: Hun School field hockey goalie Shannon Dargan makes a stop in a game earlier this season. Last Monday, senior Dargan made 30 saves to help Hun rally for a 3-2 overtime victory against Princeton High. The Raiders, who improved to 6-1-1 with the victory as they posted their fifth straight win, play at Academy of New Church (Pa.) on October 7 and at Blair Academy on October 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

When the Hun School field hockey team lost 2-1 to previously winless WW/P-S in mid-September, it proved to be a wake-up call for the Raiders.

“It was a really disappointing game because I thought we played hard but I don’t think we played our best,” said Hun head coach Kathy Quirk. “I told them that if they weren’t disappointed then something was wrong.”

Little has gone wrong for Hun since that setback as the Raiders have posted five straight wins to improve to 6-1-1.

“They are just a fun group of girls,” said Quirk, reflecting on her squad’s hot streak. “They work hard, they support each other. I am pleased with the performance that I am getting from them.”

Quirk was really pleased with the performance she got last Monday as Hun pulled out a 3-2 overtime win against powerful Princeton High, last year’s county tournament runner-up, with junior forward Julie Fassl scoring all three Raider goals and senior goalie Shannon Dargan making 30 saves.

“That was a big win for us,” said Quirk. “I told the girls that it shows we can play with the best if we put our minds to it. It was a great game.”

The combination of Fassl and sophomore Julia Revock has been giving Hun some great work at the offensive end.

“Julie is really stepping it up,” said Quirk of Fassl, who had another hat trick in a recent 4-1 win over Lawrence.

“I had moved her to the middle of the field and I just didn’t have what I wanted from her there so I moved her back to the outside. She has been doing a great job of carrying the ball down the field and being at the right place at the right time in front of the goal cage. Julia was out for a bit, we thought she had a stress fracture and was going to miss a lot of the season but she is back. She is in the center of the field, which enabled me to move Julie to the outside.”

Senior newcomer Christina Sickmueller, a native of South Africa, has kept things moving in the middle of the field for Hun.

“We actually moved her up to the midfield to try to get a little more offense out of her,” said Quirk. “She did  score a goal for us against Stuart. We are trying to get a little more offensive work out of her and she seems to be answering the call.”

Goalie Dargan, along with senior Katie Consoli and junior Sophia Albanese, have answered the call on defense. “Shannon is doing well, I think she has confidence in herself,” said Quirk.

“She dives for the ball but gets right back up, which is really good. She works well with her defense. We have Katie Consoli back there at sweeper and she has been doing a great job of staying low and keeping the ball out of the circle. Sophia Albanese is just having a great year. She comes up and is our insert on short corners. She is doing a nice job for us.”

Quirk is hoping her squad can stay on fire as it heads into the homestretch.

“The meat of our schedule comes now so we have to really be able to focus; putting the ball in the cage and keeping them out of the circle,” said Quirk, whose team plays at Academy of New Church (Pa.) on October 7 and at Blair Academy on October 10.

“It has just been a real team effort and everyone seems to be doing their job and doing what they have to do. We have no superstars; we just have a bunch of kids who really are working hard.”