GROUND CONTROL: Hun School girls’ lacrosse player Aspen Swanson scoops up the ball off the ground in recent action. Last Thursday, sophomore attacker Swanson scored two goals in a losing cause as fifth-seeded Hun fell 19-4 to top-seeded and eventual champion Lawrenceville in the Mercer County Tournament semifinal. The Raiders, who lost 14-10 to Princeton High last Monday to move to 9-7, hosts Princeton Day School on May 16. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the Hun School girls’ lacrosse team having lost 20-10 to Lawrenceville in a regular season meeting on April 10, Aspen Swanson and her Raider teammates realized they faced a tough test when the rivals met for a rematch last Thursday in the Mercer County Tournament semis.

“We knew this game was going to be a tough one, they are skilled and everything,” said Hun sophomore star attacker Swanson. “We just had to come out with the best mindset that we could. Effort is key here.”

Swanson came out strong for the Raiders, scoring a pair of goals in the first 8:26 to give Hun a 2-0 lead in the game that was played at Lawrence High.

“Off the draw, we had those 50/50s and we really just pushed out,” said Swanson. “We just played really well.”

The Big Red, though, pushed Hun around after that, responding with two goals late in the first quarter to knot the game at 2-2 and then reeled off eight straight goals in the second quarter to go up 10-2 at half and never looked back on the way to a 19-4 win.

While the loss was disappointing, Swanson believes that Hun is on the right track as it was coming off a 14-11 victory over Princeton Day School into MCT quarters.

“It was a big win, it felt really good and it put us in a higher mindset as well,” said Swanson. “I think our team culture has improved. The new coach (Geoff Chrisman) has really helped us.”

Swanson has shown a lot of improvement this spring with a year of high school lacrosse under her belt.

“I think confidence, I struggled greatly with confidence starting freshman year, just being nervous about everything,” said Swanson, who tallied two goals and two assists last Monday in a 14-10 loss to Princeton High in a regular season contest and now has 29 goals and 23 assists this spring. “I think that has evolved over time and has really helped my game.”

Playing club lax and competing for the Hun field hockey team in the fall has helped speed Swanson’s development.

“I have been working offseason a lot too, I play club with Ultimate,” said Swanson. “I think that has helped me evolve as well. Field hockey helps with the stick skills overall and hand-eye coordination which are really important in this game.”

Developing a connection with Hun senior star attackers Ava Olender and Olivia Kim has also been important for Swanson.

“Throughout the season, they have always been someone to look up to,” said Swanson. “They have always been my senior leaders on and off the field.”

Hun head coach Chrisman acknowledged that his team had no room for error against an up-tempo squad like Lawrenceville.

“The whole mindset was we can’t make mistakes, we can’t leave ground balls on the ground because any missed opportunity, they are going to take advantage of,” said Chrisman. “They are big and fast with depth. They get their hands free and they shoot so well, the ball is placed. They are a machine.”

With the Raiders coming off the win over PDS, Chrisman believed his squad was primed for the opportunity against the Big Red.

“We had some confidence, we had a couple of good days of practice, it showed in the start of the game,” said Chrisman. “We came out we scored two and then we missed a couple of ground balls, which they ran right through and gave them opportunities. There is no such thing as a missed opportunity because someone else is going to take it. You have got to seize your moment because when you don’t someone else does.”

Lawrenceville, which went on to win the MCT title for a sixth straight year, also used a stingy defense to seize momentum.

“They changed that defense up, they went to that backer and it gave us a little bit of trouble figuring it out and their goalie made some big saves,” said Chrisman. “It hurt our momentum and confidence. We put a couple in when we figured it out but we can’t wait that long to get confident.”

Chrisman credited Swanson with showing more and more confidence as spring has unfolded.

“Aspen has had a phenomenal year, I don’t even think of her a sophomore anymore,” said Chrisman. “She feeds the ball, she scores the ball and she gets big ground balls. We put her up on the circle, she plays big and tough. She is going to be a special player. We are really lucky to have her.”

With Hun, now 9-7, hosting PDS on May 16 in a regular season contest to wrap up the spring, Chrisman believes the Raiders are in a good place.

“We are sitting at nine wins right now, that is huge,” said Chrisman. “I think there are only four teams in the last 20 years that have had more than eight wins here. We have done some awesome things. We came in with all kinds of new terminology. They can speak that terminology now, they are calling picks on the field. We are still growing — we are still trying to find our identity in who we are as a program. That is a long-term goal. It is not always something that is going to come to fruition in the first season. As they move forward, they are going to get there.”

Competing against Lawrenceville in the MCT semis was a key step in that process.

“These are the type of teams we want to be playing,” said Chrisman. “That is why we went down to Florida for our spring trip and we played Exeter and other New England prep schools. That is where we want to be. We have to keep working and learn from these mistakes and get better and just keep going. It is about creating our identity within the community around here. It is continuing to play hard and show who we are. I am excited.”

Swanson, for her part, is confident that Hun will go out on a high note this spring.

“It is just staying positive and trusting each other on special plays,” said Swanson. “It is keeping our heads up.”