MAKING STRIDES: Hun School field hockey player Ana Dios fires the ball upfield last week against Princeton Day School. Senior star Dios scored the lone goal in the October 10 contest as Hun prevailed 1-0. The Raiders, who moved to 8-3 with a 3-0 loss to the Hill School (Pa.) last Saturday, will be starting play in the Mercer County Tournament this week. Second-seeded Hun was slated to host seventh-seeded Notre Dame in a quarterfinal contest on October 17 with the victor advancing to the MCT semis on October 19 at Lawrence High. The Raiders are also competing in the Prep state tourney where they are seeded second and will host sixth-seeded Blair Academy in a semifinal contest on October 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the Hun School field hockey team locked in a scoreless stalemate with local rival Princeton Day School late in the first half last week, Ana Dios took matters into her own hands.

Weaving through heavy traffic in the circle, Hun senior star Dios blasted a shot into the back of the cage with 5:38 left in the half to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

“It was a big hit, I am not going to lie,” said Dios with a smile. “In that goal I scored, it was just strength in my stick to make the ball go forward.”

The tally by Dios proved to be the only goal of the contest as Hun held off several charges by the Panthers to post a hard-earned 1-0 triumph.

“We knew that they were playing strong so we wanted to play wide and make as many passes as possible,” said Dios. “It was just control the ball instead of playing chaotic and keep possession.”

Dios and her teammates realized that the local rivalry would produce a nail-biter.

“It was a good match, we knew it was going to be intense,” said Dios. “All that matters is our energy. In practices we work very hard to connect so we can also connect on the field. I think it is mostly our communication and bonding that makes us good.”

Coming through against the Panthers was a confidence builder for the Raiders with postseason play on the horizon.

“It is going to help us towards our county and preps,” said Dios. “It is a good preparation.”

Having come to Hun in the fall of 2022 from her native Spain, Dios has emerged as a leader for the squad.

“Now I have grown into being a captain,” said Dios. “It is having better vision of the field, better communication with my teammates and just overall improvement in general.”

The experience of moving to the U.S. has led to a growth off the field for Dios.

“I am from Madrid, it pushed me to come here, trying to go to college here,” said Dios. “It was also getting to know a bit more of the world. I love it, it is great.”

Hun head coach Tracey Arndt was expecting a great battle in the clash with PDS.

“Heather (PDS head coach Heather Farlow) and I and our staff know each other and we really respect her,” said Arndt. “These games are always back and forth like this. The kids all play together. It is a good game all the time and today was another good game.”

Arndt credited Dios with making a difference in the game. 

“Ana is a great leader on the field, she is really poised,” said Arndt. “We love to have her out there, we are sad that many of these girls are seniors. She just has a nice way of playing, it is calm and strong and poised. She is very athletic. She has a sense for the goal and a sense of what is needed.”

The Raiders showed poise in holding off the Panthers, who generated several scoring opportunities down the stretch.

“PDS was knocking on the door for sure, I called a timeout in the third quarter because we were just getting pummeled,” said Arndt. “We were weathering that storm, so for us it was taking a deep breath. Last year tight games like this didn’t go our way — we couldn’t get over that hump. So this year having to play overtime twice last week and then for us to be up 1-0 today was new for us. We have been coming back in games, holding the lead can be just as hard as getting it back. Credit to their attack and Heather’s game plan and ability to adjust things. We had to adjust a little bit too and it is all good to get us ready for the tournaments.”

The trio of senior Lauren Larkin, senior Maya Zahlan, and sophomore Aspen Swanson helped the Hun defense weather that storm.

“Lauren made some great plays for us in the back, Maya is just amazing,” said Arndt, who got eight saves from goalie Norah Kempson in the win. “Aspen only started playing last August. She is a great athlete, she is a natural athlete. She is very, very coachable kid; one of the most I have been able to coach.”

With the Raiders, who moved to 8-3 with a 3-0 loss to the Hill School (Pa.) last Saturday, starting play in the Mercer County Tournament this week, Arndt believes Hun is in a good place.

“I am happy that we challenged ourself with a schedule that is pretty hard,” said Arndt, whose team was seeded second in the MCT and was slated to host seventh-seeded Notre Dame in a quarterfinal contest on October 17 with the victor advancing to the MCT semis on October 19 at Lawrence High. “They are doing the things that we ask them to do at practice. They are implementing things at practice and they have been following our game plans the best that they can.”

No matter what happens in the postseason, Arndt is confident her players will give their best effort.

“We have a mantra this year — play with heart —and it is an acronym for a different bunch of words (honor, effort, attitude, respect and trust),” said Arndt, whose team is also competing in the Prep state tourney where it is seeded second and will host sixth-seeded Blair Academy in a semifinal contest on October 25.

“That is what they are doing, they are just playing with heart. If you play with heart and you follow the game plan and you trust us as coaches and trust each other, whatever happens is going to happen. We are just grateful to be on the positive end of it. We have been tested over the last few weeks and I think that is a positive because I think it is going to help us grow.”

Dios, for her part, believes that Hun will be ready for the tests ahead.

“I think is mostly comes off of our energy and practices,” said Dios. “I feel that if we have a good practice, then it reflects in the games. It is all about our positive mindset.”