BRINGING HER A-GAME: Hun School girls’ lacrosse player Ava Olender heads to goal in action last spring. Junior star attacker Olender tallied six goals and two assists to help Hun defeat the Perkiomen School (Pa.) 17-4 last Friday in its season opener. The Raiders play at Shipley School (Pa.) on April 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Ava Olender and her teammates on the Hun School girls’ lacrosse team were raring to go as they hosted the Perkiomen School (Pa.) last Friday to finally open their 2023 campaign.

“We were really excited because our game Saturday was supposed to be our home opener and it got canceled,” said Hun junior star attacker Olender. “This was our official opening game, so we have been waiting the whole week to play in a game.”

The Raiders produced an exciting start, jumping out to an 11-1 halftime lead over Perkiomen.

“We went out there and our main goal was to stay calm and composed,” said Olender. “We knew we had the skills and the stickwork to make it work. I was telling the team, ‘make sure we keep calm and stay composed because we still have this.’”

Hun kept displaying its skills, never looking back on the way to a 17-4 victory. Olender ended the day with six goals and two assists with Abby O’Brien tallying five goals and an assist and Olivia Kim chipping in three goals and two assists.

The attack unit of Olender, O’Brien, and Kim appeared to be in midseason form.

“The good thing about Abby, Liv, and I is that we all play similar roles on the team scoring-wise,” said Olender. “They are really good at scoring and
feeding, and I feel like I am a decent scorer and feeder as well. It is fun to really work with them.”

Olender has worked hard to hone her scoring and feeding.

“The club season has been pretty good for me; I play for Triple Threat Elite in Flemington,” said Olender.

“It has been going really well — the fall went super well. We had a good winter league where I played for both Hun and my club team.”

In the wake of Hun’s opening day performance, Olender believes the team can do really well this spring.

“We have some good additions,” said Olender. “Aspen [Swanson] is really good and all of our returners have improved and put in a lot of work in the offseason, which is going to help us tremendously this season.”

Hun head coach Kathleen Jaeger believes that a preseason trip to Florida helped the Raiders excel in the opener.

“It is always easier in the nicer weather to have everyone happy, ready, and excited at the start of their spring break,” said Jaeger. “We got some really good practice sessions in. People were just locked in and ready to work and ready for the season to really start.”

Jaeger liked the way her offense locked in against the Panthers.

“I think that their patience today made a huge difference, they were willing to take their time and move it around,” said Jaeger, who also got two goals from Maggie Maffia and one from Swanson. “I think shot selection is something we can continue to work on. It is opening game and we are definitely happy to see a lot of different goal scorers. We talk about that a lot about being aware, knowing how the defenders react and making our decisions from there.”

The play of Olender certainly made a difference for the Raiders.

“Ava is somebody who puts in work all year long and you definitely saw that today,” said Jaeger. “I was excited that she was able to get that success. She supported other teammates and they supported her.”

The Hun defense put in some good work, spearheaded by senior star Tylr Neely.

“Tylr is a great leader back there and she is headed to the Coast Guard Academy next year,” said Jaeger. “Knowing that she is going to a military academy just tells you a lot about her as person and teammate. She is just that positive person back there. We have some girls who are playing lacrosse for the first time that she takes under her wing. She makes sure that they know what is expected of them and what they should do. That is a big task for a senior in high school, to see that leadership and that confidence.”

The squad’s seniors — Kaitlyn Kirin, Angelina Vitale, O’Brien, Neely, and Maffia — have shown great leadership over the years.

“This group of seniors is so special because they have been here since I started coaching,” said Jaeger. “They have been leaders, on and off the field, since the end of freshman year into sophomores. Now you are really seeing them take control. It is their team, their year as seniors. We are excited to see that leadership.”

Looking forward, Jaeger is excited about Hun’s prospects.

“It was good to see the pieces starting to come together,” said Jaeger, whose team plays at Shipley School (Pa.) on April 6. “It is huge and we are able to identify things that we need to continue to work on, but also things that the girls are having success with and having fun. You just see that when they are having fun, they are able to do so much in the field.”

Olender, for her part, believes that the success in the opener is a harbinger of things to come.

“This was a confidence builder, 100 percent, especially coming out not really knowing who this team was — we didn’t really know much about them,” said Olender. “It is good to have a good win under our belt and have confidence moving into the next game.”