Showing Growth After Losing Opener, PDS Field Hockey Defeats Stuart 3-2
For the Princeton Day School field hockey team, its season opener against Montgomery High last Friday was the first stage of a season-long growing process.
“I think the whole year is going to be a learning experience for this team, we have so many new faces,” said PDS head coach Tracey Arndt.
“The seniors are learning to step up; we had some vocal seniors last year and now these seniors have to take charge. The juniors know that they have to take on some of the leadership role. We have sophomores who have never played varsity before and we have a bunch of freshmen.”
In the clash against powerful Montgomery, the Panthers fell behind 1-0 but evened the game at 1-1 as one of those freshmen, Elizabeth Brennan tallied her first career goal with an assist by senior tri-captain Dana Poltorak. The Cougars then responded with a goal at the buzzer to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
“I was proud of how we played in the first half,” said Arndt. “We got scored on and we didn’t let that get to us. We kept playing and going after it.”
After a weather delay of more than an hour due to thunderstorms in the area, the game resumed and Montgomery struck with a goal to make it 3-1, which ended up being the final score.
“When we came back, Montgomery pounced on the opportunities,” lamented Arndt.
“We kept fighting, there was no give up, there was no quit. They realized something like this delay could happen again and they will grow from this first game.”
Arndt was excited to see Brennan come through in the first game of her high school career.
“We were so psyched that she got a goal in her first game, that should be a good memory for her,” said Arndt. “She’s doing great, we expect a lot from her. She is really hungry for the ball, she is passionate about field hockey.”
On defense, junior Kate Laughlin came up big as she moved to the backline in the absence of senior tri-captain Niki van Manen. “We missed Niki but Kate really stepped up, we trust her all over the field,” said Arndt.
“She played in the center in a scrimmage and I know it isn’t her favorite spot. We may find a spot for her in the midfield. She is consistent and strong, she is cool as a cucumber.”
Two of PDS’s new faces, sophomore transfer Kiely French and freshman Kyra Hall, also produced strong defensive efforts. “Kiely French really stepped up, she hadn’t played left back before,” added Arndt. “Kyra Hall played right back, that is a tough position and she stepped up too.”
Senior goalie and tri-captain Katie Alden [this reporter’s daughter] showed some toughness as she stymied a number of Montgomery scoring opportunities.
“Katie Alden made some nice saves,” said Arndt of Alden, who was credited with seven stops. “They had more shots than we did and things could have gotten really shaky if she hadn’t made some of those saves.”
On Monday, the Panthers produced a very nice effort as they edged Stuart Country Day School 3-2 as Lauren Finley, Madison Mundenar, and Rowan Schomburg each scored goals and Alden made eight saves.
In moving to 1-1, the Panthers followed the blueprint Arndt formulated after the Montgomery game.
“We need to build on what we did in the first half; the forwards need to be coming back and tackling hard,” said Arndt, whose squad hosts Peddie on September 10.
“We have a lot of speed and we need to be pressuring the ball and making interceptions. We need Lauren Finley to come up big at forward and Rowan Schomburg to do big things in the midfield.”