FINAL PUSH: Stuart Country Day field hockey player Catherine Biava pushes the ball up the field last Sunday against Princeton Day School in the state Prep B championship game. Junior Biava and the seventh-seeded Tartans battled valiantly in falling 2-0 to top-seeded PDS in the title game. Stuart finished the season with a final record of 5-11-2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In early September, the Stuart Country Day field hockey team opened the season with a disappointing 7-0 loss at Princeton Day School.

Last Sunday, the Great Road rivals met in the state Prep B finals and it was a much different game.

Battling top-seeded PDS tooth and nail, upset-minded and seventh-seeded Stuart dropped a tight 2-0 decision.

Afterward, Stuart head coach Missy Bruvik appreciated how far her team had come since that rough outing in September.

“We played the first game of the season right here on this field and we were just trying to figure out who we were and what we had,” said Bruvik.

“To see the team chemistry and the improvement in every one of those kids was great. We even had kids join the team after that first game, which helped our program, so we are getting there.”

Getting to the title game required underdog Tartans, who had one-two wins all season before the tourney, to make an unlikely run through the Prep B bracket.

“We took two steps this year, we knocked off that No. 2 seed Newark Academy and the No. 3 seed Montclair Kimberley and had a chance to play the second best team in the county,” said Bruvik, whose team ended up with a final record of 5-11-2. “To have that score today, I am really, really proud of them because I know what caliber that team is.”

In making those steps, the Tartans displayed a work ethic and adaptability. “I think it is getting kids to really understand the amount of time and effort it is going to take to get there and I think they bought in,” said Bruvik.

“These kids worked hard positionally where we needed them. They were flexible enough to say I might have to play here. It is all about the team.”

The Stuart defense worked hard all day in the title game as PDS built a 12-0 edge in shots.

“We were holding the fort, I thought Alexxa Newman, our senior goalie, did a tremendous job in her last game in cage,” said Bruvik, whose goalie Newman had 10 saves on the day.

“We knew they had powerhouses on the attack line and in the middle. We had to be ready defensively. I think we did a pretty good job marking them high. They had a lot of corners.”

In Bruvik’s view, the Stuart program may have turned a corner with its stirring postseason run.

“Clearly going into next year, we need to build an attack,” said Bruvik. “We just said to those seniors, they have left us in a great place. There were a lot of fans here today so we hope the excitement is back for Stuart hockey.”