WELL DONE: Stuart Country Day senior lacrosse star Ani ­Hallowell heads up the field in recent action. Last Thursday, midfielder Hallowell scored five goals in a losing cause as Stuart fell 18-8 to the Lawrenceville School. The Tartans, who lost 13-7 to Rutgers Prep last Monday in the state Prep B tournament to drop to 1-8, play at Hamilton on May 2. Later in the week, Stuart starts action in the Mercer County Tournament where the 15th-seeded Tartans play at No. 2 Princeton High on May 4 in an opening round contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Ani Hallowell didn’t waste any time displaying her offensive skills last Thursday as the Stuart Country Day School lacrosse team hosted Lawrenceville.

The Stuart senior star midfielder snatched the first two draws and snaked through the Lawrenceville defense to score two goals in the first 1:38 of the contest.

In reflecting on her hot start, Hallowell acknowledged that she had a little extra jump in her step against the Big Red.

“I guess I had a lot of energy today; my head was definitely in the game today,” said Hallowell. “I try to do that every game and I try to keep focused and in the game.”

With Hallowell triggering the attack, the underdog Tartans led Lawrenceville 6-5 with 10 minutes left in the half.

“We have a lot of new players and we know they have been trying to step up and today, we all stepped up and came together,” said Hallowell. “It really looked great in the first few minutes; we had a lot of confidence.”

Things didn’t go so great for the Tartans after that as the deeper Big Red gradually wore down Stuart. Lawrenceville reeled off a 6-0 run to take an 11-6 lead at halftime.

The gritty Tartans kept battling but couldn’t find a rhythm in the second half as they ultimately fell 18-8.

“We don’t tend to get discouraged when we get down; we try to answer back and fight back with as many goals as we can,” said Hallowell, who ended up with five goals on the day.

“There was just a little bit of miscalculation on passes and things like that but we definitely fought hard. I am proud of my team for that because there are a lot of new players on our team and we have definitely stepped it up a lot.”

As Stuart’s most battle-tested performer, Hallowell goes out of her way to encourage the team’s new players.

“I definitely try to be more of a leader of the team as a captain and as a senior,” asserted Hallowell.

“It is my fourth year on varsity so I know what it takes to play. I try to help the younger and the less experienced players more, so that our team can get better.”

Stuart first year head coach Caitlin Grant believes that Hallowell carries more than her share of the load for the Tartans.

“Ani is just an awesome player all around; she goes through everyone,” said Grant.

“I think the team relies on her too much sometimes. They watch her; they need to realize they can all contribute in a great way.”

Grant had fun watching her team push Lawrenceville in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

“We started out great; our passes were connecting,” said Grant who got a goal from Isabel Soto and two from Hallowell’s younger sister, sophomore Amy Hallowell. “Our girls played great together; we were winning the draws.”

The Tartans eventually ran out of gas against the Big Red. “We don’t have any subs; sometimes we have just one extra player,” said Grant, whose team fell 13-7 to Rutgers Prep last Monday in the first round of the state Prep B tournament to drop to 1-8.

“It’s hard because these midfielders run the whole game. They don’t get any breaks. These girls give it their all and they don’t give up.”

Freshman goalie Harlyn Bell has been giving her all as she has quickly picked up the game and her position.

“It is her first year playing lacrosse; she has only been playing for the past two months,” said Grant.

“I think she is great; she is aggressive. She clears the ball. Now, she is loud on defense. She really stepped it up this year.”

The future looks bright for Stuart as several young players have been stepping up this spring.

“Meghan Shannon as a defender has really stepped it up and on low defense,” added Grant.

“Isabel Soto is going to be one of the stars of the team next year; I am just waiting for her to burst out. I think we have some great girls on this team, a lot of them are young. Amy is a sophomore, Meghan is a sophomore. Harlyn is a freshman. So that makes me really happy.”

Grant is happy with the progress she has been seeing in her debut season at the helm of the program.

“I think we make small improvements every game and I wish that the season was longer,” said Grant, whose team plays at Hamilton on May 2 and then starts action in the Mercer County Tournament when the 15th-seeded Tartans play at No. 2 Princeton High on May 4 in an opening round contest.

I believe that in our Prep conference, us included, it is any team’s game on any day. It is whoever comes out wanting to win it.”

Hallowell, for her part, believes the Tartans can do some big things down the stretch.

“Going forward, we just need to keep our heads up and know that we can win games,” said Hallowell.

“We just have to keep our heads in the game and be on our game everyday.”