BECK AND CALL: Hun School boys’ lacrosse player Andrew Heubeck, right, looks to unload the ball in a game last season. This past Friday, senior star and Colgate-bound Heubeck tallied two goals and three assists to help Hun defeat Pennsbury High (Pa.) 16-6. In upcoming action, the Raiders, now 2-1, host Lawrenceville on April 6, play at the Blair Academy on April 9, and then host the Peddie School on April 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Andrew Heubeck has emerged as a jack-of-all trades for the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team this spring.

The Colgate-bound senior star attackman has added taking face-offs to his normal duties of playmaking and scoring.

Last Friday, Heubeck displayed his versatility, tallying two goals and three assists in addition to his work in the face-off X as Hun rolled to a 16-6 win over Pennsbury High (Pa.).

Heubeck is enjoying his increased responsibilities.

“It is my first time trying face-offs, it has been a challenge but I like it so far,” said Heubeck. “On offense, it is a little bit of dodging and trying to get my teammates goals too.”

Jumping out to a 9-2 halftime lead over Pennsbury, Hun displayed a potent offense.

“We had lots of energy and we were moving the ball around,” said Heubeck. “We were ready to take over.”

Moving the ball to freshman star attackman Jack Moran helped trigger the Raider attack.

“He is always open, I think he scored five or six goals,” said Heubeck of the connection with Moran, who ended up with six goals and two assists in the win.

With Hun posting its second straight victory after falling 7-2 to Academy of New Church (Pa.) in its season opener on March 25, Heubeck believes the squad is getting into groove.

“It is great to have back-to-back wins,” said Heubeck “We are feeling good.”

Hun head coach Jim Stagnitta saw plenty of good things in the win over Pennsbury.

“I thought the guys stayed pretty consistent and executed well,” said Stagnitta. “We are certainly a lot better than we were at this time last year. The guys who were in the program last year improved dramatically and we have new guys who came who gave us a boost.”

Moran is one of the new guys who has made an immediate impact for Hun.

“He is terrific; he has got a lot to learn but he has such a huge upside,” said Stagnitta. “He was in eighth grade last year, so he has never played like this. He gets better every day. I say to him all of the time, you are the biggest guy on the field. He is just learning how to use his body well, he is going to be a good one.”

Stagnitta credited Heubeck with making in a terrific contribution so far this spring.

“If he can be consistent like he was today, he is as good as anybody,” said Stagnitta. “He is a helluva athlete, he can do everything.”

Another key athlete for Hun is sophomore attacker Daniel  Cano.

“He brought a lot to the table with our attack,” said Stagnitta. “He has a really good IQ and he really settled people down out there.”

The Raider defense settled in nicely, holding Pennsbury to four goals through the first 45 minutes of the contest.

“There are some things we can do better but when we didn’t did do things right, [Luke] Donahue saved us,” said Stagnitta. “He made the saves, he is a great kid.”

With Hun hosting Lawrenceville on April 6, playing at the Blair Academy on April 9, and then hosting the Peddie School on April 12, Stagnitta believes his squad can do some good things.

“We are getting better every day, they work hard in practice,” said Stagnitta. “We have Lawrenceville next week, that is going to be our big test. If we can be patient and we can be consistent, that is the big thing. We just don’t have a lot of guys. We have good guys, not just a lot of them.”

Heubeck, for his part, is determined to go out with a bang in his final campaign for Hun.

“We didn’t really get a good season last year so we want to bring it all this year,” said Heubeck, who is in his fourth year with the program. “We have to keep moving the ball around, communicating, and bringing the energy.”