(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) caption: SENIOR MOMENT: Stuart Country Day senior field hockey star Kristi Hallowell heads up the field in recent action. Last Friday, Hallowell and classmates Lara Agnew, Whitney Charbonneau, Bethan Johnson, Katherine Keith, Tiara Little, Kate Neubert, and Elisabeth Darnell enjoyed their Senior Day as Stuart edged South Hunterdon 2-1. The Tartans, now 5-10, play at Pingry on October 19 and at Blair on October 20 before competing in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament on October 23.

Senior Star Agnew Primed for Final Push as Stuart Field Hockey Girds for Postseason

Bill Alden

It wasn’t a tournament game or a contest against a local prep rival but Lara Agnew was at a fever pitch.

It was Senior Day for Agnew and her classmates on the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team last Friday and they desperately wanted a win as they hosted South Hunterdon.

“We have definitely been waiting for this moment for a long time; I know I have since freshman year,” said star midfielder Agnew, whose fellow seniors on the squad include Whitney Charbonneau, Kristi Hallowell, Bethan Johnson, Katherine Keith, Tiara Little, Kate Neubert, and Elisabeth Darnell.

“I have seen the seniors playing these games and I have always wanted to be the one jumping up and screaming.”

In the early going, though, it was the South Hunterdon players who were jumping for joy as they took a 1-0 lead 2:16 into the contest.

But 43 seconds later, the Tartans were screaming in glee as they knotted the game on a goal by Colleen Baker.

“When other teams score on us; we usually have a hard time getting back into it,” said Agnew. “This goal was really great; it got us going and gave us some momentum for the rest of the game.”

Continuing to attack, Stuart forged ahead 2-1 midway through the second half as Angela Gallagher banged in a goal.

Holding off a late South Hunterdon charge, Stuart hung on for the win and then celebrated on the field with screams and hugs.

“We wanted to win so much,” said Agnew, reflecting on the victory which improved Stuart to 5-10.

“The whole season we have been working on wanting to win and that really came together today.”

Agnew acknowledged that things got dicey down the stretch as the Tartans were a player down for the last four and half minutes due to a yellow card.

“We had that timeout and we were able to compose ourselves,” said Agnew. “Everyone made the effort to come back and help out. We knew that we had to keep going.”

In Agnew’s view, the win over South Hunterdon was a critical effort for a Tartan team that has struggled through an inconsistent season.

“We have had some great wins and some awful losses and we have had some great losses where we played really well,” said Agnew. “We needed a solid win; it was a challenging game and we were able to pull through. I think that is more important than the game where you win easily.”

Stuart head coach Julie Lambi saw the win over South Hunterdon as a solid effort. “They were pumped up from the get-go; we had a great practice yesterday,” said Lambi.

“This is a huge confidence builder; I think we have put some things together. It was a great win for us.”

Lambi drew confidence from the resilience displayed by her team in overcoming the early deficit.

“We always try to score first but sometimes we need to play from behind to rise to the challenge,” said Lambi.

“We did today and when we scored the next goal that motivated us. We kept pushing forward. Obviously we would have liked to have had a few more goals but we kept the pressure up. We really pushed through; everyone did a great job.”

Stuart is getting some great work from Agnew and her classmates. “They have been our go-to girls to get the job done,” said Lambi, reflecting on her corps of seniors.

“I know they do a great job of helping the other players around them to be better. I look to them to motivate the team to do the things that they need to do. They have really been the anchor of this team.”

Despite the team’s 5-10 record, Lambi believes it could do damage in both the Mercer County Tournament and state prep tourney.

“We have nothing to lose at all,” said Lambi, whose team plays at Pingry on October 19 and at Blair on October 20 before competing in the first round of the MCT on October 23.

“My philosophy is to always give our best effort and leave nothing to question or out there on the field. I think this could be a very dangerous team. Our midfield passing is excellent. We have a lot of scoring threats and we have a solid defense. Some teams will look past us and that is even better for us because we are not putting pressure on ourselves.”

Agnew, for her part, believes Stuart could be a threat in postseason play. “We are going into it with a positive attitude and this win on our backs,” said Agnew. “We are going into next week and we will just keep preparing. We are going to give it our all and just have a good time with it.”

With the emotions of Senior Day still running high, Agnew made it clear that she and her classmates have extra motivation to give their all over the season’s homestretch.

“It just hit me today that I am not going to be on the Stuart field hockey team after this and it just kills me,” said Agnew. “I really want to make the best of it now and I really think our team will do that.”

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