MASER VISION: Stuart Country Day School lacrosse player Julia Maser, left, gets past a foe in a game last season. Senior star Maser will be a go-to player for Stuart this spring as it looks to improve on the 7-9 record it posted in 2015. The Tartans start their season by playing at Rutgers Prep on March 31 and at Princeton Day School on April 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

It didn’t take long this spring for Kelsey O’Gorman to get a good feeling about her Stuart Country Day School lacrosse team.

“I really think this group has a ton of potential, even just the vibe I am getting from practice and them all being together, the upperclassmen are helping the underclassmen and the connection is really there,” said Stuart head coach O’Gorman, who guided the Tartans to a 7-9 record last spring in her debut campaign at the helm of the program.

“It is always hard to describe but you could sense it from day one so I am excited about that.”

As O’Gorman heads into her second season guiding the Tartans, she is feeling a deeper connection with her players.

“I am used to environment and the atmosphere, the expectations are set and it is just going to be nice to have that background already established,” said O’Gorman, whose team opens its season by playing at Rutgers Prep on March 31 and at Princeton Day School on April 4.

“The scaffolding has been laid from last year; not that it was a learning year but I think this is going go be a progressive year for us.”

O’Gorman is depending on her corps of seniors to have a big year. “We have a strong group, Julia Maser, Rose Tetnowski, Tori Hannah, and Harley Guzman; they are my seniors leading the pack,” noted O’Gorman.

“I just think that they are really going to be bringing their knowledge down to the freshmen.”

The trio of Maser, Hannah, and Guzman, figures to lead the attack for the Tartans.

“I think offensive production is definitely a strong area for us, we have players who really stand out and know how to finish in goal,” said O’Gorman, whose attack unit will also include juniors Izy Engel and Caitlyn Delaney, sophomores Ali Hannah and Elle Widger and freshmen Millie Brigaud and Lauren Magnani.

“I am looking for us to be strong in that aspect. The seniors are definitely going to be big assets for us. We also have some young players coming in like Grace Sheppard and Addie McCabe. We have great additions this season so I am excited to blend it all together.”

Stuart will depend on the battle-tested Tetnowski to hold the defense together.

“We have Rose leading the defense and Gin-Gin Plehn is a sophomore returning there,” said O’Gorman, who will also be using juniors Puneet Gill and Tina Lu along with freshmen Bridget Zhong, Meghan Liebowitz, and Breasia Williams on defense. “We definitely have strength in the defensive unit.”

Having lost one of the program’s stronger goalies in recent years, Harlyn Bell, to graduation, Stuart has a big hole to fill in the cage.

“We have Claire Landers in goal, she is a defender helping us out in that position,” said O’Gorman.

“We may possibly have Ali Hannah playing goal as well but right now Claire has really stepped up. She is doing a great job, there is no fear in her.”

In order for the Tartans to have a great spring, they need to play as a unit.

“The key for us is just getting on the same page,” said O’Gorman. “The younger players need to be following the advice from their coaches and the upperclassmen, nurturing that knowledge and working well with one another.”