For Hun coach Tracey Arndt the path to last year's Mercer County Tournament championship was a bit of a rocky one.
Right after taking over the head coaching job for the Raiders in 2019, she, like all other area coaches, had to face the challenges brought by the COVID shutdowns. For a team building a new culture under a new head coach, it took some time to develop the talent and bring the needed stability to the program.
Last year's 15-5 season and MCT title is evidence that, under Arndt, the Hun program has arrived. But on the heels of the new found success comes a change in the landscape.
With the dissolution of the Mercer County Tournament Association comes the end of the MCT, one of the key segments of the Hun schedule. And graduation losses ave taken their toll as well. In addition, the team's leading scorer last season as only a freshman, Piper Morey, has decided to pursue her passion for ice hockey year round and is off the roster.
In spite of the loss of the MCT, the Hun schedule continues to get tougher. This year it includes games with Philadelphia area INTER-AC powers Episcopal, Penn Charter and Springside-Chestnut Hill, as well as Pingry and Academy New Church (PA). That is in addition to its regular MAPL conference schedule which includes games with Hill, which is Max Field Hockey's No 1 ranked team nationally, Lawrenceville, Blair and resurgent Peddie.
But with a core group of returning players and some fresh talent, Arndt and her Raiders are seeking out new challenges with a new confidence.
"We are definitely a very different team," Arndt said of the 2024 edition of Hun field hockey. "I think every team is different from one year to the other. But one thing we leveled out from the very beginning of the season was, what can we take from last year and build upon that.
"What were some of the things? Whether it was the way we worked, whether it was the way we trained, the way we treat each other, how we approached practice. Those types of things are all controllable that we can bring into this. Is our skill different? Yes. Are some of our people graduated? Absolutely. But who we truly are has to remain the same and then it will come."
Hun dove into the deep end in its first game of the season, taking on a brutal opening opponent in Episcopal (PA). The final result was a 10-0 loss but the Raiders rebounded smartly in their second contest of the season, defeating a young but experienced Robbinsville squad 2-0 before taking on Academy New Church on Monday.
The opening day challenge was a similar one from a year ago when Hun took on 2023's No. 1 ranked team in the NJ.com Top 20, Kingsway.
"We played Kingsway last year to start our season, and you ave to play those teams, and Robbinsville, which is very good, in the beginning to kind of get a sense of who you are. (Episcopal) was very good. I don't think the score was indicative, we just kind of fell apart. But we're moving forward."
It is early in the season yet, but at least two players have emerged as serious offensive threats for the Raiders, returning senior Phoebe Thielmann, who scored 25 points last season, and new arrival Sophie Clark, who led the scoring in the win over Robbinsville with a goal and an assist.
While the offense seems to still be a bit of a work in progress, the Hun defense looks rock solid. It limited Robbinsville to just three shots on goal in the recent win, making life easy on goalies Farrah Fang and Brynn Shapiro.
"It's a marathon, not a sprint," Arndt said of Hun's continued development. "And what's important is, when you have a core that have laid the foundation, that core has to remain very strong in our values. We kept the same values we had last year and we rolled them over. We did that purposely, with the girls' participation, because we just felt, why are we reinventing the wheel? It worked, it helped us to be a guidepost and we moved forward.
"When kids come here, we start early with them and their families about the partnership that we have. for me it's way more than just the hockey. So they know that about me, that them as humans are way more important to me than as hockey players. But they also know how competitive I am, what a standard I have for what I hope to be a high character person. If those things are good, then the hockey is going to take care of itself, because we trust each other and respect each other. Last year helped build the foundation but I'd like to credit the people (who came before). Even though they may have been a smaller group, they started to spearhead that for us."
There is still a long way to go in the season, but for Arndt and her Raiders, the goals are clear.
"There is no more Mercer County (Tournament). We get to keep that forever and ever," Arndt said. "But we still have spirations to do the best we can in our state tournament, get as high as we can in the MAPL league. So we look to just growing each day."
Notre Dame has a breakthrough win
Over the past several seasons, there has been no tougher CVC team to beat than Princeton. The Tigers had lost only two conference games in the past five years.
For Notre Dame, the drought against the Tigers has been even longer. Not since the Irish scored a 3-0 victory in 2017 hadve they been able to upend Princeton. But that all changed last Friday, when Notre Dame scored two fourth quarter goals to defeat the Tigers 5-3 in Princeton. It marked the first time that Irish coach Cheryl Harris has been on the winning sideline against Princeton in her tenure as head of the program, which began in 2019.
The Irish held an advantage in both shots on goal (20-13) and penalty corners (9-6), converting two of those corners into goals.
The team's top returning scorer from a year ago, senior Ellie Marrone, continued to deliver on offense, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Meanwhile Notre Dame got solo goals from Victoria Suschke, Elana Ruppersberger and Emma McVey.
Both Marie Conway and Clementine Bowden got into the offensive action, as Conway assisted on two scores while Bowden had one assist. The winning goalie, Adriana Tattoli, had 10 saves to preserve the victory.
A look ahead
Wednesday, Sept. 18: Princeton at Princeton Day, 4 p.m. Regardless of their records each year, these two cross town rivals always engage in a tough, competitive battle.
Wednesday, Sept. 18: Notre Dame at Allentown, 4 p.m. Fresh off their win over Princeton, the Irish hit the road to take on the CVC favorite Redbirds.
Saturday, Sept. 21: Montclair Kimberley at Peddie, 1 p.m. The Falcons have jumped out to a 3-1 start under head coach Julie Sheldon, but face a difficult prep matchup against the Cougars.
Player of the Week
Allentown improved to 3-1 last week by defeating Point Pleasant Boro and CVC Colonial Division rival Hopewell Valley.
The Redbirds' Ella Sluder figured in every goal scored in those two games, leading her team to the 2-1 win over Boro and the 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs.
On Wednesday, against Boro, Sluder scored one goal and assisted on the goal by Kelsey Loughlin to help secure the win. Three days later, she punched three goals into the cage, accounting for all the scoring in the victory over Hopewell Valley.
In all, Sluder scored nine points on the week, with four goals and an assist. She now ranks in the top five players in the Times Area in season totals in both points, with 15, and goals, with seven.