READY TO STRIKE: Hun School girls’ lacrosse player Kate Davis gets ready to go after the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, junior midfielder/attacker Davis scored four goals to help Hun defeat Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) 16-5. Hun, who defeated Monroe 16-11 on Monday and improving to 5-6, plays at Pennington School on April 27 and hosts Hights-town on April 28. In addition, the Raiders will be starting play in the Mercer County Tournament where they are seeded 10th and slated to play at No. 7 Pennington on April 30 in a first round contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

As Kate Davis hit the field for the Hun School girls’ lacrosse team last Saturday against visiting Mercersburg Academy (Pa.), she had the word “focus” scrawled in black ink on her left arm.

With Hun coming off a 17-3 defeat to Notre Dame the day before, junior midfielder/attacker Davis was determined to bring that watchword to life.

“We had a tough loss yesterday, we were missing some girls today so we really had to step it up,” said Davis. “We came in strong and played real well as a team.”

Davis played very well, scoring four goals to help the Raiders rout Mercersburg 16-5. She was one of four multi-goal scorers for the Raiders as junior Shannon Dudeck had four goals and two assists with junior Delia Lawver adding three goals and an assist and senior Lindsay Ruddy chipping in two goals and two assists.

“Since the beginning of the season we have been saying we can’t have just one girl running down the whole field; everyone is going to clutter and we will drop the ball,” said Davis, reflecting on the team’s balanced attack.

“We had to know the importance of passing the ball and connecting from defense to attack and I think we really got it down today.”

With Hun leading 9-2 at intermission, Davis and her teammates didn’t want take their foot off the pedal.

“During halftime, we said that we couldn’t fall down because they would try to get up so we needed to come out stronger in the second half,” said Davis. “We feel that every game it is important to come strong both halves.”

Heading into her junior campaign, Davis felt she needed to assume more responsibility on and off the field this spring.

“Last year, we had big senior players and big junior players so this year I feel like I need to step up as a leader of the team,” added Davis, who recently committed to attend William Smith College where she will be playing for its women’s lacrosse program along with Hun teammates Lawver and the Consoli twins, Emma and Katie.

“A couple of other girls and I have really tried to bring the team together and make it not just an individual team where one girl has all the shots. You saw today that Shannon Dudeck had four goals and Delia Lawver had three goals. It is not just one person, it is so many people contributing to the growing program.”

Davis sees using her speed as a way she can contribute to the Hun attack. “I usually try to get by the defense and then run up, if a girl is open I will pass it because it is so easy to open things up,” said Davis, who tallied two goals and three assists last Monday to help Hun defeat Monroe 16-11 as it improved to 5-6. “If I start from the top of the circle, I can stutter around them.”

Hun head coach Liz Cook liked the way her team opened the contest as it jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the Blue Storm.

“We were looking at our passing game; it is our goal to be a passing team so today we wanted to have every goal have an assist with it,” said Cook. “I am really proud of them for bouncing back from yesterday.”

Cook is proud of how Davis has grown into such a threat all over the field for the Raiders.

“Kate has tremendous speed and is a versatile player,” asserted Cook. “When she turns it on, there is nobody who can stop her. She knows she can go to goal, she can take on one or two players but she can also play a great defensive game.”

The one-two punch of Dudeck and Lawver made a difference for Hun as well.

“They are instrumental in the draw, both of them are really tough, they can fall down and get right back up and never give up,” said Cook.

“They both have that go-for-it personality. They are players I go to when things are down because they can stand back up and have a smile on their faces.”

The Consoli twins bring personality and talent to the mix. “They are awesome, they have been instrumental in building the culture of our team; they are invaluable to me as a resource for the kids and for my team,” said Cook.

“They are incredible players, they can play offense and defense and can do anything. They are mostly on defense but sometimes I run them full.”

In cruising past Mercersburg, Hun used a tough zone defense to stymie the Blue Wave.

“We have been working on the backer quite a bit and today was a day we could put it back in,” explained Cook.

“We haven’t been able to put back in with our stronger teams. I am really proud of them. We put our backer in and they worked it really well. They did everything we have been working on. The way we pressured the ball was the way we got our turnovers today. That is really because of defense we played as a team today for sure.”

With the Raiders having lost two straight coming into Saturday, it was important to get back on the winning track.

“We have a tough schedule,” said Cook, whose team plays at Pennington School on April 27 and hosts Hightstown on April 28 and be starting play in the Mercer County Tournament where the Raiders are seeded 10th and slated to play at No. 7 Pennington on April 30 in a first round contest.

“We have had some close games and a couple of blowouts. This was a game that we really needed to win. It was a great confidence builder for them to be able to finish two halves and for them to know they can come out on the field and beat a team and pass the ball.”

Davis, for her part, believes Hun can build on the victory over Mercersburg.

“We are going to keep going strong,” said Davis. “We want to focus on coming out strong in both halves and really just to try to play as a team like we did today. It was a confidence booster.”