(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: CENTURY CLUB: Stuart Country Day field hockey senior star Jackie Gaudioso-Radvany fires a shot in action last season. This past Saturday, Gaudioso-Radvany tallied the 100th goal of her Stuart career, notching the lone goal in the third-seeded Tartans’ 1-0 win over No. 3 Notre Dame in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals. The Tartans, now 18-5, will face No. 4 Hopewell Valley in the MCT title game on November 5 at Robbinsville High.

Gaudioso-Radvany’s 100th Career Goal Lifts Stuart Field Hockey Into MCT Final

Bill Alden

Stuart Country Day field hockey star Jackie Gaudioso-Radvany was simply following orders from a higher authority.

With Stuart locked in a scoreless tie with Notre Dame at halftime last Saturday in the Mercer County semifinals and Gaudioso-Radvany needing a goal to reach the 100 mark in her career, Stuart headmistress, Sister Frances de la Chapelle, passed on some words of wisdom.

“The Sister said ‘Jackie get your 100th but do it religiously, faithfully,’” said Gaudioso-Radvany with a smile.

Minutes later, Gaudioso-Radvany faithfully executed that instruction, converting a Maddie Copeland pass into the back of the cage as Stuart forged ahead 1-0 with 27:13 left in the second half.

The third-seeded Tartans held off a late charge from the No. 2 Irish, turning Notre Dame aside on three penalty corners in the waning moments of the game to punch their ticket to the MCT title game and a showdown with No. 4 Hopewell Valley on November 5 at Robbinsville High.

The win improved Stuart to 18-5 on the season and kept alive its chance to win a fourth straight MCT title.

For Gaudioso-Radvany, hitting the 100-goal milestone on such a critical score made the moment doubly satisfying.

“It’s so rewarding right now, I feel so accomplished,” said a smiling Gaudioso-Radvany. “I am definitely glad I got my 100th during a semifinal game like this.”

When Gaudioso-Radvany started her career at Stuart, she never envisioned reaching such a standard.

“As a freshman, I scored some and then some more as a sophomore and then on and on,” said Gaudioso-Radvany, who will be playing at North Carolina next year. “I didn’t think it was going to be like this, not at all.”

Gaudioso-Radvany will be the first to tell you that she couldn’t have gotten her 100th without a lot of help.

“I can only thank my team; everybody supported me,” said Gaudioso-Radvany. “I’ve got to thank Maddie for that pass.”

The players’ support for each other helped Stuart rebound from a tough 1-0 loss to Peddie last Wednesday in the state Prep A semifinals.

“That’s just what this team is all about, coming back,” said Gaudioso-Radvany, who led Stuart to the Prep co-championship last year, scoring both goals as the Tartans tied Lawrenceville 2-2. “I am so proud of them.”

Stuart head coach Katie Grant shared her senior star’s pride in the resilience Stuart displayed in the wake of the Peddie loss.

“It was difficult for them but at the same time I think they realized a new tournament, a new day,” said Grant, whose team edged sixth-seeded Steinert 1-0 in double overtime last Thursday in the MCT quarters.

“If we don’t show up in this one, then the season is definitely over so I think they really came into this tournament with a good attitude. It did take a lot for them to bounce back. We are all about resilience this year, that’s our theme. I think they did a good job these last two games.”

Grant knows that she has been getting a good job from Gaudioso-Radvany game in, game out.

“She is just a great forward; she has that ability and that sense around the circle and the goal,” said Grant.

“I think it was really cool for her to get it, especially today as the game winner. She was running out of games to get it, I think it was hard for her. I think it was definitely in the back of her mind; it’s hard but she handles it well. She deserves everything she gets.”

The defense displayed by the Tartans certainly made them deserving of the win over Notre Dame.

“We had a really quality first half, we shut them out and they had no shots,” said Grant.

“They came on strong at the end but the defense made the saves. They weren’t challenged a ton during the game but when they were, they did their job.”

Stuart’s core of seniors did its job as they earned a shot to end their career a perfect 4-for-4 in MCTs.

“I think that’s definitely in the back of their minds,” said Grant. “I think it was more the other day. The minutes were ticking and it was still the quarterfinals.”

Gaudioso-Radvany, for her part, said that she and her classmates are determined to make the most of the final minutes of their Stuart career.

“We didn’t want it to end today,” said Gaudioso-Radvany. “That was definitely a motivation; there are 10 of us. This is awesome.”

Return to Previous Sports Story | Return to Top | Go to Calendar