MOVING FORWARD: Hun School field hockey player Kate Davis tracks down the ball in a 2015 game. Last Friday, senior star forward Davis scored the winning goal as Hun edged WW/P-N 3-2, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit. The Raiders, now 3-4, host Lawrence on October 5, Blair Academy on October 8, and Academy of New Church (Pa.) on October 11. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Coming off a 4-1 victory over Stuart Country Day School to snap a four-game losing streak, the Hun School field hockey team was determined to get off to a fast start when it hosted WW/P-N last Friday.

Instead, Hun stumbled out of the gate against the Northern Knights, yielding two unanswered goals in the first 3:17 of the contest.

Hun called a timeout as it tried to regroup before things got out of hand. “We were concerned,” said Hun senior forward Kate Davis.

“Coach (Kathy Quirk) called the timeout and she was trying to motivate us, saying we are better than we are playing. We had to get it together.”

Starting to gain some possession and generate chances,  Hun got on the board with just under 10 minutes left in the half as Julie Fassl scored off of a penalty corner with Sophia Albanese getting the assist.

“It was carrying the ball down and using the players next to you or behind you,” said Davis, reflecting on Hun’s rally.

“We realized that we had to trust the players behind us; they are always going to be there to get the ball and don’t think you can do it yourself. You have players in front of you and behind you that can help you.”

Building on that tally, Hun knotted the game with 1:19 in the half as Julia Revock tallied on a feed by Fassl.

“It gave us a real boost of confidence and we realized that we needed to step up and get one goal,” said Davis in assessing the impact of Revock’s goal.

Just over 18 minutes into the second half, the Raiders did just that as Davis took matters into her hands, fighting through a logjam in the circle to poke in a goal and put Hun ahead 3-2 to stay as it prevailed by that score.

“We knew we could win, we started putting in the work after we got the second goal on the board,” said Davis. “We really knew that we had to keep going and we couldn’t back off for one second.”

In getting the game winner, Davis didn’t back off as she battled through several Northern Knights to get the tally.

“I think Julie crossed it; the goalie was coming for it and I saw that she dove,” recalled Davos. “I kind of pushed it a little bit and it rolled and I pushed it again.”

Pushing up the field is Davis’ forte. “I can use my speed to carry it up the right side of the field, this is my stick side,” explained Davis, a star for the Hun girls’ lacrosse team who has committed to attend William Smith College and play for its women’s lax program. “My role is to hit it to the middle and get as many assists and goals as I can.”

Hun head coach Quirk likes the way Davis gets into the middle of the action for the Raiders.

“When Kate plays well, she turns it on,” said Quirk.” She does a nice job for us; she is scrappy.”

Quirk acknowledged that Hun wasn’t doing a great job in the early stages of the contest against WW/P-N and she let her team know that during the timeout.

“I said I am very disappointed and I don’t know what you are doing, either go out there and play or we are going to be where we are every other game,” said Quirk.

“I just said they had to step it up. The other team didn’t even have a warmup and we have been out here for an hour and you let in two goals. That is unacceptable.”

Seeing her team step it up over the rest of the game made Quirk proud.

“That was big, we are always playing catchup,” added Quirk. “I thought today maybe we could start out on top, but we didn’t and that’s OK, they responded. They came back and did what I asked them to do; this is a big win for us.”

Senior star Fassl proved to be a very big factor in the win. “Julie is a quiet leader, she doesn’t say much but I think she leads by example with her hard work and her dedication,” asserted Quirk.

“She is going on to play field hockey and softball at Virginia Wesleyan. I think that says something about her as an athlete; you don’t see that too much any more. She has been around the cage and she knows that is her job.”

After the shaky start, the defense did its job in holding off the Northern Knights.

“I think they started approaching them a little better and they started communicating,” noted Quirk in assessing the defensive effort.

“M.C. Shea is working hard in goal, she is a work in progress. Sophia Albanese is the center and Delia Lawver did a nice job in the center also. The kids today just pushed up and were in there.”

Building on the triumph over WW/P-N with a 2-1 victory over WW/P-S a day later, the Raiders are now 3-4 and headed in the right direction.

“I just think we are all starting to work together,” said Quirk, whose team hosts Lawrence on October 5, Blair Academy on October 8, and Academy of New Church (Pa.) on October 11.

“We did some back passes, some side passes, up passes, and cross passes. I think it is finally coming together for us. We just seem to take four or five games to get it to work.”

Davis, for her part, believes that rallying for the win over the Northern Knights could be a turning point for Hun.

“I think we realize even when we don’t get off to a good start, we know that we can beat a good team and have the good season that we want,” said Davis.

“Our goal is to play like that all the time, so we don’t have to keep trying to come back because it is exhausting.”