There was a lot of buzz surrounding the clash last Saturday between the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team and local rival Lawrenceville.

Many in the lax community had the date circled on their calendar as the rematch of last year’s state Prep A championship game that featured an undefeated Hun squad looking for a breakthrough win against perennial champion Lawrenceville, who had defeated the Raiders 11-6 last spring in the title contest.

But Hun junior goalie Jon Levine wasn’t about to get caught up in the hoopla surrounding the game, which drew a large crowd to the Natale Field.

“We approach every game with the same mentality, every game is a big game for us,” said Levine.

“Lawrenceville is a great team, we have a lot of respect for them. We came out here and approached it like every other game.”

Hun didn’t waste any time showing its intent, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. “It was a big start, we came out strong,” said Levine. “Alex Semler did a great job on the face-offs, getting us possession. We were very happy with that. We came out and played our game.”

Hun was on its game all day long, cruising to an 18-9 victory over the Big Red and its first win over Lawrenceville in more than a decade.

The Raider defense was stifling all day long, repeatedly thwarting Lawrenceville’s high-powered attack.

“We have a lot of new defenders this year and we have come together well with coach (MV) Whitlow’s guidance,” said Levine.

“We are a strong group, a really close group. We are clicking right now, we are doing well. There are still areas we want to improve on as well.”

Levine was clicking himself, recording 17 saves in shutting the door on the Big Red.

“I felt good today,” said Levine, who has made a commitment to the admissions process to play Division I men’s lacrosse at Princeton University.

“I am only as good as my defense that plays in front of me. They had a great game today so I owe them.”

Hun never let Lawrenceville feel good, building a 10-4 halftime lead to a 17-7 advantage with 4:35 remaining in regulation.

“I think we just kept that mentality, coming out strong and relentless,” said Levine, reflecting on the teams’ second half performance. “I am really proud of the way our boys performed today.”

Levine and his teammates were proud to achieve the breakthrough win over their perennial nemesis, which has won 13 straight Prep A titles.

“Every win means something to us but this one is special,” said Levine. “Lawrenceville is a great team. It is the first time that Hun has beaten Lawrenceville lacrosse in a long, long time.”

For Hun head coach MV Whitlow, the triumph over the Big Red was a long time coming.

“It has been too long since we beat them,” said Whitlow. “They are a great program. They are right down the street and we would like to have a healthy, respectful rivalry with them. Our kids all know each other. My players have a lot of respect for the Lawrenceville players. I know that some of those Lawrenceville players have
respect for my guys too.”

Jumping out to the early lead on Saturday helped Hun to earn the respect of their rival.

“I do think it was important to start fast, we trust the kids to make good decisions,” said Whitlow, whose team featured a balanced attack with Chris Donovan scoring five goals, Cole West adding four tallies and Chris Aslanian contributing a goal and five assists. “It is team effort. We had 10 different guys who scored, that is huge.”

Whitlow credited Levine and the Hun defense with producing a huge effort. “Jon likes to see those 12-15 yarders out in the elbow,” said Whitlow. “When we slide the way we are supposed to slide and work together, systematically we are going to have those kind of saves. We did take care of business.”

The Raiders showed that they meant business long before the season started.

“I think we have more depth and they worked a lot harder in the offseason,” said Whitlow.

“Some of the 7-year Hun students have really come along. It is how you build a real program from the bottom up.”

While Whitlow was thrilled with the win, he thinks it is just a start for his talented team.

“It shows we can come through against a quality opponent, it is going to make us grow and that is what we talked about at the end of the game,” said Whitlow, whose squad topped WW/P-N 21-4 last Monday to improve to 7-0 and will host St. Augustine Prep on April 16. “We haven’t played our best lacrosse of the year. We have to stay sharp.”

Levine, for his part, believes Hun’s best lacrosse is to come. “It shows a lot about our development and how we have come together as a very close group and how we are a bunch of hardworking, good kids,” said Levine, reflecting on the win over Lawrenceville. “We are excited to see where we can take this.”