FANCY FOOTWORK: Hun School girls’ soccer player Kara Borden shows off her ball skills last Saturday against Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams. Junior star Borden notched a goal to help Hun earn a 2-2 draw with the Irish. In upcoming action, the Raiders host Germantown Academy (Pa.) on September 15 and Oak Knoll on September 19. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Two years ago, the Hun School girls’ soccer team reached new heights as it defeated perennial power Pennington 2-0 to win the state Prep A title.

Last fall, Hun suffered from a bit of a hangover from its magical 2014 campaign as it went 9-8 and never really got rolling.

As the Raiders headed into this season, Hun head coach Joanna Hallac was looking to recapture some of the spirit that had galvanized that championship squad.

“It is about our goals as a unit and not about individuals,” said Hallac.

“I think that is what really made us successful two years ago because if you look at individual player by player, Pennington was more talented and skilled than we were but the advantage that we had was that we were a better team. I think the leaders on this year’s team, particularly our captains, Abby Gray and Julia Salerno, have done a really nice job of recreating that kind of atmosphere, environment, and chemistry.”

Hun boasts a talented player up front in junior forward Kara Borden, who found the back of the net along with Shannon Dudeck as Hun tied Notre Dame 2-2 last Saturday in its season opener.

“I think Kara looks better technically; she has brought more dimension to her game,” said Hallac, noting that Borden recently committed to attend the University of Miami and play for its women’s soccer program.

“She is going left foot, right foot, taking on people one versus one and combining with midfielders. She is making herself a threat but then also knowing that she is attracting a lot of attention defensively, she can quickly lay off balls and get other people involved.”

Hallac is happy to have sophomore transfer Bryonna Worthy involved on the attack.

“Bryonna had 19 goals as a freshman at South Amboy,” said Hallac. “She is real fast. She is still learning, you can tell she has raw talent. It is going to be really great for her to be with Kara, the thing about Kara is that she really understands the game.”

Another talented transfer, junior Hannah Bunce, who scored 18 goals last fall to help Princeton Day School win the state Prep B title, will bring a lot of game to the midfield.

“Hannah is going to play a left outside mid and sometimes up front; that is a huge get for us,” said Hallac.

“She and Kara work well together so that is a nice option as well. She is really fitting in well with the girls, they really like her and she is getting along with them.”

Senior star and co-captain Gray will be getting into the action all over the field.

“Abby Gray will be mainly center mid but she is so versatile I can play her outside mid if I need to,” said Hallac, noting that she may use Gray up top as well.

“She is the kind of kid who will do whatever her team needs her to do. The work that she has done, not only over the past year, but over four years, I have seen her develop as a player from freshman year to now. This kid has just dedicated so much of herself to the game and getting better at it. But it is not just the game, it is improving herself as a leader and improving herself physically.”

Junior Nicole Apuzzi, freshman Nicole Angelini, junior Kennedy DuBow, senior Shannon Dudeck, and junior Jenna Jarvis will also see action in the midfield.

“Nicole Apuzzi has upped her game for sure,” said Hallac. “Nicole Angelini is a freshman center mid, who is really impressive. She reminds of Jess Sacco (a star of the 2014 team currently playing at Lehigh) with her vision and her technical ability. I think she is going to be a real playmaker for us and turn into a player who we can channel the offense through. At the other outside mids is a rotation of Kennedy DuBow, Shannon Dudeck, and Jenna Jarvis.”

Junior star  Kendall Dandridge and senior co-captain Salerno will spearhead the Hun defense, supported by senior Natalie Csapo,
sophomore Olivia McNulty, freshman Hannah Cavanaugh, and sophomore Madelyn Santori.

“Dandridge and Salerno are going to be our center backs, I had to move Dandridge in because we just had a big hole to fill. With Jess Johnson leaving there was just no one else who could do the job,” said Hallac.

“Kendall can play the position, she is a natural defender so those two will be our center backs. We moved Nat Csapo back to outside back and then we have got Olivia McNulty, who had a nice preseason. She has really improved a lot since last year. Hannah Cavanaugh is an outside back and she can play outside mid. She really gets up and down the flank nicely, she crosses the balls in. Madelyn Santori was pulled up from the JV last year; she is tough and she will work hard and will give you those minutes. We will have some options there.”

The Raiders have two good options at goalie in sophomore Leah Sutphen and junior Livia Kooker.

“Both of them look good, it is going to be one of those things where they are probably splitting time,” said Hallac.

“They both have strengths and weaknesses that complement one another. The team is comfortable with both of them; I don’t see a difference in how we play. They are right there with each other.”

In order to be a title contender, the Raiders will need to put in a strong effort every day.

“We are really emphasizing making practices more competitive and game-like,” asserted Hallac, whose team hosts Germantown Academy (Pa.) on September 15 and Oak Knoll on September 19.

“We have a really hard schedule so we don’t have a lot of room for error. We need to challenge each other a little more in practice. I think we also need to have the belief that we belong there; we know what we are capable of. We have gotten back to the chemistry off the field that really helped us create this special team two years ago.”