LOOKING FORWARD: Hun School boys’ lacrosse player John Salcedo looks for an opening last Wednesday against Princeton Day School. Senior midfielder Salcedo tallied a goal and two assists in the contest but it wasn’t enough as Hun fell 9-8 in overtime to PDS. The Raiders, who defeated Blair Academy 15-0 last Saturday to move to 1-1, host Montgomery on April 6 and Bergen Catholic on April 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Hosting crosstown rival Princeton Day School in its season opener last Wednesday, the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team raced out of the gate on fire.

Hun scored two unanswered goals in the first five minutes of the contest and extended its lead to 5-2 midway through the second quarter.

But by halftime, PDS narrowed the gap to 5-4 and Hun head coach M.V. Whitlow knew that his team was in for a battle.

“I liked the way we started but you have got to give PDS, their players, and their coaching staff a lot of credit for sticking to their game plan,” said Whitlow. “They showed a lot of resolve.”

In the second half, Hun sought to maintain an uptempo pace but the game turned into a tense nailbiter. The teams were tied at 5-5 early in the third quarter and after Hun forged ahead 8-6 in the fourth, PDS scored two straight goals to make it 8-8 and force overtime.

“We wanted to run and they didn’t let us run,” said Whitlow. “From being patient and attacking the goal from certain spots on the field that allowed them to get back on defense a little quicker. Their guys made some big plays.”

Hun tried to make some big plays to break the deadlock in extra time but got thwarted by the Panthers, who prevailed 9-8 in double overtime.

“We were drawing up mostly clears as far as the overtime; they were switching in and out of some gimmick defenses,” said Whitlow.

“Their goalie Connor Green made big saves in both overtimes and we hit a big pipe at the end of regulation.”

Hun got big performances in defeat from junior star Jake Keller (two goals) and senior goalie Gib Versfeld (10 saves).

“Jake is a playmaker; he gets up the field,” said Whitlow. “He plays longstick midfield aggressively the way we encourage him to play. He is a good player. Gib was voted as a captain. He is a good goalie. We are happy with him.”

With plenty of lacrosse to be played this spring, Whitlow saw the opening day loss as nothing more than a bump in the road.

“You have to play and move on,” said Whitlow, whose squad defeated Blair Academy 15-0 last Saturday to move to 1-1 and now hosts Montgomery on April 6 and Bergen Catholic on April 10. “It is just a game and there is a lot to learn from these moments.”