SISTER ACT: Stuart Country Day School lacrosse player Lauren Lee defends a foe in a game this spring. Freshman midfielder Lee combined with her older sister, junior attacker Allison Lee, to trigger the Tartan offense. The younger Lee tallied 21 goals and 10 assists while her sister led the way for Stuart with 88 goals and 10 assists. The Tartans posted a final record of 6-12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Enduring some ups and downs this spring as it incorporated a number of young players into its lineup, Stuart Country Day School displayed its growth by ending the season on a high note.

Stuart defeated the Solebury School (Pa.) 16-1 and then topped Gill St. Bernards 14-7 in its season finale on May 20 as the Tartans posted a final record of 6-12.

Stuart first-year head coach Paige Meszaros saw the pair of wins as a culmination of the effort her players put in this spring.

“I think that was a great way to end the season in a really rewarding way,” said Meszaros. “They did work so hard and we had quite a long stretch there in the middle of the season with some tough games.”

In the win over Solebury, 11 different Stuart players scored at least one goal while senior goalie Alex Mandzij starred in the win over Gill, making 14 saves to spark a stingy Tartan defensive effort.

“A lot of girls actually scored their first goal in that game; they agreed upon that and that is what we did,” said Meszaros, reflecting on the win over Solebury. “That Gill game was good. It was a rewarding finish for Alex and for the team defense. She has been so helpful for us this season. She stepped up in the games where we really needed her. Our defense has gotten to a point where we were finally able to be forcing the bad shots.”

The program underwent a youth movement by necessity this spring.

“We had so many new players, more than half of our roster was freshmen,” said Meszaros. “There were 11 freshmen — I think there were seven of them who had never played lacrosse before and six of those girls started. So it was like half of our team was brand new to the sport. They did pick it up rather quickly. These other teams had girls that have played for a lot longer.”

Junior star Allison Lee and her younger sister, freshman Lauren, triggered the Tartan attack and also helped tutor the newcomers to the game. Allison tallied 88 goals and 10 assists while Lauren chipped in 21 goals and 10 assists.

“Allison definitely is our offense, she is willing to help out on the field,” said Meszaros. “Her and her sister have both been pretty helpful at practices, just telling girls what to do. There are good coaching players. They will go out there and they are willing to help. That has been good for us as well to have them out there as leaders on the field.

Two veteran players, sophomore Abby Chirik (11 goals, 3 assists) and junior Emily Harlan (6 goals, 13 assists), emerged as key players this spring for the Tartans.

“We used Abby a lot in the midfield and she was really helpful,” said Meszaros. “Emily definitely got stronger as the season progressed. She was one of our low attackers, she was moving around more figuring out what our offense was supposed to be looking like.”

As for the group of freshman, Celia Struve-Altuve,

Lauren Lee, Maeve Wall, Maddie Razler, and Betsy Murphy each made a strong contribution.

“Celia on the defense did well,” said Meszaros. “Lauren was very good of course. Maeve was a volleyball player who picked it up so quickly. She is so strong. She and Maddie Razler were real helpful on defense this season. Betsy was another low attack player. She is big and fast. She and Emily Harlan worked well together.”

Meszaros likes the way her players worked hard to improve over the course of the spring.

“They are very smart and coachable, that is one of the things that I really enjoyed with this team,” said Meszaros. “They are very receptive to all that we had told them. That was good to see. When we told them to run something, they would go out there and try to do it. It wasn’t always fluid, it was almost robotic sometimes. Towards the end of the season everything looked like it was starting to flow.”

Looking ahead, Meszaros believes things will be flowing from the get-go next spring.

“We graduate two seniors, Eva [Nester] and Alex — that will hurt a little bit without our goalie,” said Meszaros. “Next year, starting with those girls that now have a year of experience under their belt, I think it will be a different start for us. Some of them are multi-sport athletes and it all translates. It will be perfecting those skills rather than teaching and introducing them.”