(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) caption: STARKE CONTRAST: Stuart Country Day field hockey player Nikki Starke dribbles the ball in action last season. Junior midfielder Starke came up big last Friday in the season opener, contributing a goal and an assist as Stuart topped the George School (Pa.) 6-0. In upcoming action, the Tartans host the Lawrenceville School on September 17.

Stuart Field Hockey Embracing Hard Work; Opens 2011 Season by Routing George School

Bill Alden

After struggling for much of last fall, the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team caught fire down the stretch.

The Tartans pulled two upsets in the state Prep B tournament, toppling higher seeded Morristown-Beard and Princeton Day School on the way to the championship game where they dropped a 2-1 nailbiter to Montclair Kimberley.

In the view of second-year head coach Julie Martelli (formerly Lambi), that late surge has given the team’s returners a shot in the arm as they start the 2011 campaign.

“Last year gave them a good vision of that they can do; it left a good feeling,” said Martelli, whose club posted an 8-14-1 record in 2010.

“They exceeded what they thought they could do. Now they know with hard work, they achieve their goals. It doesn’t come easy.”

Last Friday, the Tartans put in some good work as they started their 2011 season with a 6-0 win over the George School (Pa.) as Kassidy McNair and Colleen Baker each scored two goals with Nikki Starke and Angela Gallagher adding one apiece.

As the team headed into the season, Martelli had the sense that everyone was on the same page in her second year at the helm.

“It has been a lot easier transition; they know what I expect after having one year of me,” said Martelli.

“They know I am going to work them hard and push, push. They embrace that. They want to be successful, they want to be better. The seniors are rising to the occasion, taking a leadership role and steering the team in the right direction.”

Martelli believes that her trio of senior attackers, Baker, Gallagher, and McNair, can have a lot of success.

“We have Colleen Baker and Angela Gallagher at attack; they were two of our goal scorers from last year so it is good to have them back,” said Martelli. “Kassidy McNair was injured last year; she has worked hard to get back.”

Stuart is looking for its midfield to produce goals, sparked by juniors Ani Hallowell and Starke together with senior Susan Knox.

“We will move our midfielders up the field; we will be looking for them to generate offense,” asserted Martelli.

“We have Ani Hallowell at attacking midfielder; she fits the role of two players for us. Nikki Starke is a big gun for us in the midfield. Susan Knox is also seeing a lot of time there.”

Another one of the Hallowells, sophomore Amy Hallowell, will be a top gun on the Tartan defense.

“Amy never gives up; you can never question her effort,” said Martelli. “Her vision on the field has gotten better. She is strong on tackling and good on her hits.”

Martelli is counting on getting a big effort from senior goalie Margo Schmiederer.

“Margo is our lead defender; she has done a lot of work over the summer,” said Martelli of Schmiederer, who made seven saves in earning the shutout in the win over George. “She is aggressive and vocal. She is not afraid to do whatever she needs to do to stop the ball. She will lead and organize our defense.”

In order to have a big fall, Stuart needs all of its players to take a fearless approach.

“One of our challenges is going to be depth; we need every single person to contribute and be excited about being on the field,” said Martelli, whose team hosts the Lawrenceville School on September 17.

“We are working on getting better everyday. I think we need to have a complete team effort. We need to be aggressive and disciplined on defense. The seniors have experience; they know what it takes to do well.”

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