REACHING OUT: Princeton Day School field hockey player Kelly Christie, left, goes after the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Wednesday, senior star Christie tallied a goal to help third-seeded PDS defeat sixth-seeded Academy of St. Elizabeth 5-0 in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Non-Public Tournament. The Panthers went on to lose 7-2 to second-seeded Pingry in the semifinals last Saturday to end the fall with a 15-4-1 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was Kelly Christie’s last appearance on Smoyer Field for the Princeton Day School field hockey team, but she was determined that it wouldn’t turn out to be the final game of her career.

As third-seeded PDS hosted sixth-seeded Academy of St. Elizabeth in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Non-Public Tournament last Wednesday, senior star Christie and her teammates were fired up to keep their season going.

“All of the seniors and everyone on the team knew that this wasn’t going to be our last game,” said Christie. “We knew that by bringing our intensity and enthusiasm to the game. This is our last time on this field. I think this team is so close and everyone wants it for the seniors. The seniors wanted it and the other players want to support the seniors.”

Just over two minutes into the contest, Christie displayed her intensity, tallying a goal as she redirected a hit by classmate Tessa Caputo into the cage.

“Tessa dribbled it in and I believe it was either deflected or she lifted it up and it had a pretty good bounce,” recalled Christie. “I saw that the goalie was a little off the post, so I gave it one hit in. Airballs are my favorite kind.”

Christie’s tally helped set the tone as PDS got a goal from Sammy Dandy late in the first half to go up 2-0 by halftime and pulled away to a 5-0 victory.

“Finishing off with a goal after that definitely helped a lot,” said Christie.

Sammy going back to back was great, we always say two minutes to our next goal. We finished the game like that. We kept going, we kept our intensity. We knew we had to play our game which we did through the entire time.”

Over the latter stages of the contest, Christie helped shore up the PDS defense.

“Towards the second half, I moved back to a defensive  situation,” said Christie. “We were up, we knew there was no need to rush and we could play a more defensive game. We have a great defense and we were able to stop in a circle, hit it out to the side, playing safe while using our channel out on the sideline.”

Over her PDS career, Christie has upped her game. “Through my four years, I have learned a ton, the coaching staff has completely changed who I am as an athlete,” said Christie, who also plays for the PDS girls’ lacrosse team. “I am infinitely better. I have played club lacrosse and I have played lacrosse here. I think a lot of that movement translates on to field hockey. Freshman year I was a newer player and I have just been shaped. I love field hockey; it has shaped me to be a much better athlete and player overall.”

PDS head coach Heather Farlow liked her squad’s overall offensive effort on the win over St. Elizabeth.

“We wanted to set an early tone, we have been working on possession and quick transition so that was our focus; it was good,” said Farlow, who also got two goals from senior Lily Ryan and one from sophomore Amelia Lach. “I thought we played really well, I thought we played tight triangles.”

Farlow credited Christie with helping the Panther defense play well.

“We switched up our formation a little bit, Kelly has a really strong block tackle,” said Farlow. “She is very patient so it worked out well.”

With the Panthers having won six of eight games heading into the sectional semis, Farlow likes the work she is getting from her players.

“I do feel like we have raised our level so we will see. We went through a period where most of the team was sick and we had college applications,” said Farlow. “Now that we are past that, now that it is November, we are just focused in on the states. They really want to keep moving forward, they want to see how far we can get.”

While that focus got the Panthers to the semis, they could go no further as they fell 7-2 to second-seeded Pingry last Saturday with seniors Christie and Ryan scoring the PDS goals in their finale.

While Christie had hoped that the Panthers, who ended the season at 15-4-1, would be playing for a title, she liked how the squad came together down the stretch.

“We are playing the best hockey so far,” said Christie. “We are passing it, we are moving it. We are supporting each other throughout the entire time.”