FINAL PUSH: Hun School girls’ lacrosse player Ava Olender heads to goal in recent action. Last Saturday, senior star and Tufts University commit Olender tallied four goals and an assist to help Hun defeat the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) 18-9. The Raiders, who topped Hightstown 12-9 last Monday to improve to 7-4, play at Blair Academy in the Prep A state quarterfinals on May 1 and then host Hopewell Valley on May 4. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

Ava Olender is bringing a carefree approach this spring into her final campaign for the Hun School girls’ lacrosse team.

“I am just letting go this season, I know it is my last one so I am just here to have fun and have the best time,” said senior star Olender. “I want to lift all of my other teammates up and leave a positive impact on the program as a whole on my way out.”

Last Saturday against visiting Mercersburg Academy (Pa.), Olender gave Hun a big lift, scoring four goals and adding an assist as the Raiders rolled to an 18-9 win.

Olender scored two goals as the Raiders built an early 6-1 lead.

“I felt the energy on our side which was really nice,” said Olender, reflecting on the team’s early surge. “I talked to my girls and I said, ‘Picks are going to work, fast-paced movements are going to work.’ I said, ‘I can get an opening on them and still shoot and the face-guard isn’t going to stop me.’”

The Raiders got some good work from a number of players against Mercersburg as senior Olivia Kim tallied four goals while sophomore Emma Stowe chipped in four goals, sophomore Aspen Swanson had three goals and two assists, and sophomore Keaton Vales contributed two goals.

“It was awesome to see Emma get right off the draw and go straight to cage a few times,” said Olender. “It was good to see some of the people down low, really dictating the offense and setting feeds. I was getting feeds from players that I hadn’t before. It was really nice to see.”

Over the last four years, Olender has gotten a lot of feeds from classmate Kim.

“Olivia and I played a season of club together, which was really fun,” said Olender who is headed to Tufts University to play for its women’s lax team while Kim is a Williams College commit. “We played for triple threat. We have been here at Hun together the past four years. We both have a really good dynamic. We read each other super well. It is nice on the offense to have somebody … who knows what I want to do.”

The squad has developed a good dynamic under new head coach Geoff Chrisman.

“I love what he is doing for the program,” said Olender of Chrisman. “He is very dedicated into building the culture of the program, which I appreciate.”

Hun head coach Chrisman, for his part, appreciated how the Raider players have bought into that culture.

“I am really happy with our culture, it is my favorite word ever,” said Chrisman. “We support each other, we cheer for each other. We talk about the word ‘mudita’ which means having joy and success for others; it is a Sanskrit word. I am really proud of the way we celebrate for our successes with the younger girls getting in and some of our older girls finding success.”

Chrisman was happy with the way Hun started against Mercersburg.

“The point of emphasis today was to come out and control the game, set the tone, and play to our level,” said Chrisman. “We were down two starters for the day and the bench played phenomenally and with intensity.”

The Raiders have been getting some high level play from Olender.

“She is developing and playing in a new system, it can be hard for people but she is just the thriving with her off-ball cuts, picks, and all of those things,” said Chrisman of Olender who had four goals and one assist in a 12-9 win over Hightstown last Monday as Hun improved to 7-4. “She sees the field so well. We are giving her lanes and she is just being unbelievably successful.”

Olender has formed a potent one-two punch with Kim. So far this spring, Olender has tallied 70 points on 47 goals and 23 assists while Kim has contributed 40 points on 32 goals and eight assists.
“They have been playing with each other for so long, they know where each other are on the field,” said Chrisman. “I don’t even think they need to talk to each other. they know where their cuts are going to be. They are so comfortable and they know exactly where they like the ball. They play really well together.”

The play of sophomores Swanson, Stowe, and Vales has been a revelation.

“The sophomores, they are halfway through the season so they are not allowed to be sophomores anymore,” said Chrisman. “They are really starting to play to their potential. The game is slowing down for them, especially with Emma and Aspen. Keaton is getting her confidence which is awesome. They are all making plays.”

At the defensive end, the Raiders are finding their form.

“We are finding our consistency, we have a lot of athletes down there that are embracing a new system and new terminology,” said Chrisman.

“They are starting to be able to run it by themselves without us calling it which is great — that is where we want to be halfway through the season. Julia Wolfe in goal has really started to come along for only having played lacrosse for 13 months now. She is really thriving, we are very happy with her.”

The Hun players have displayed a consistent work ethic collectively.

“I am really proud of what these girls do in between practices and games,” said Chrisman. “They have so much school work here but they are watching film. They are coming in early and they are going down and doing wall ball in free period. They are really embracing the student-athletes role here at Hun. They are balancing a lot.”

With the Raiders playing at Blair Academy in the Prep A state quarterfinals on May 1 and then hosting Hopewell Valley on May 4, Chrisman believes that diligence will pay dividends.

“Our Prep A tournament starts Wednesday, we are back up at Blair,” said Chrisman, whose team fell 11-10 to the Buccaneers on April 24 in a regular season contest. “The girls are circling the calendar for that. It is just about finding our consistency. If we continue to push our consistency, I think we can beat any team that we get on the field with.”

Olender, for her part, is excited for the final push of her Raider career.

“I definitely think we are in a good spot in the homestretch; in the games that were really close, they could have got either way which was a little frustrating,” said Olender.

“We are excited for Blair next week. We really need to focus on consistency as a team. We have lots of highs and lows as a team. It is part of the game but mitigating those highs and lows is
definitely something we need to focus on and also finishing shots.”