SHOWING HER A-GAME: Stuart Country Day School field hockey player Adrianna Palmer, left, goes after the ball against an Allentown player last Thursday night in the Mercer County Tournament semis. Sophomore midfielder Palmer tallied a goal and an assist to help the seventh-seeded Tartans stun the third-seeded Redbirds 4-0. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the seventh-seeded Stuart Country Day School field hockey team controlling possession but locked in a 0-0 tie with third-seeded Allentown in the first half of the Mercer County Tournament semis last Thursday, Adrianna Palmer decided it was time to break the stalemate.

“We were on their goal, we were down there for most of the time,” said Stuart sophomore midfielder Palmer.

“We had to get it in so I pushed it right into the center and made sure that someone would be there to help me out.”

Tartan freshman Lily Harlan provided the helping hand, directing the Palmer hit into the back of the cage to give Stuart a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Stuart weathered some pressure from Allentown and pushed in three more goals to pull away to a 4-0 win and a spot in the MCT title game for the first time since 2008.

“We didn’t want to back down just because we got one goal; we had the mind-set of it is back to 0-0 and to keep up going as hard as we could to get another one,” said Palmer.

“We have been working hard on making sure that breakaways were stopped. I think we did a great job of doing it.”

Palmer got the final goal of the evening, doing a nice job as she fired the ball into the back of the cage with 10:55 left in regulation.

“I just knew that we had to get it into the center; I gave it the biggest push I could and luckily it went all the way it,” said Palmer.

For Stuart, making it all the way to the MCT final was special for the underdog squad.

“It was a huge goal for us; we have been working really hard,” said Palmer. “We knew this year we could do it so we just kept practicing and pushing. For us to do it is a dream come true.”

Getting pushed up the field to midfield, this after playing defense last fall in her freshman season, Palmer has worked hard to refine her offensive game.

“I had a little bit of transition; I was a defender last year and moving up to midfield is requiring a little more ball skill,” said Palmer.

“Kaitlyn [Magnani] and Caroline [Mullen] encouraged me every day during practice to work hard.”

Stuart head coach Missy Bruvik credited Palmer with possessing skill and savvy.

“Adrianna had a fabulous game in the midfield; she was a low back last year and she has been moved up to that midfield position,” said Bruvik.

“She is smart on the ball, she keeps her feet moving, and she knows when to release.

Although Stuart went on to lose 1-0 to Lawrenceville in the final on Saturday, Palmer is proud of how far the squad has come this fall.

“At the preseason we didn’t have many people; we knew once school started we would be all together,” said Palmer.

“We finally got our whole team together. We definitely bonded and it feels great.”