 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
SQUEEZE PLAY: Stuart Country Day junior Carys Johnson, middle, squeezes between two defenders in a game earlier this season. Johnson, a sprint champion for Stuart in the spring, is emerging as a star for the Tartan field hockey team. Last Wednesday, she recorded her first career hat trick as Stuart cruised to a 5-0 win at Hun. |
Carys Johnson brought sprinter's speed to the Stuart Country Day field hockey team last fall when she made the varsity squad.
In the spring of 2005, Johnson had raced to the title in the 100-meter dash at the state Prep B championship track meet.
Johnson, though, was not an instant success with the Stuart field hockey team, spending a lot of time on the bench as she mastered the finer points of the game.
This season, Johnson's stick skills have caught up with her pace as she earned a spot in the Stuart starting lineup and has been making her way on to the scorer's sheet.
Last Wednesday, Johnson showed how far she has come, scoring three goals to help spark Stuart's 5-0 romp at Hun on the field turf at the Natale Family Field.
In reflecting on the win, Johnson attributed the margin of the victory to Stuart's team speed. "I think we're a really strong turf team," said Johnson, who scored once in the first half and then added two more goals in the second half as Stuart improved to 9-0-1.
"We have a lot of good runners and it's really a pleasure for all of us. It's the middle of the season and we're really in good shape. This is one of our best games so far. We keep getting better every time we get on the field."
Johnson feels as though she getting better and better. "Last year I made varsity as a sophomore and I didn't get a lot of playing time," said Johnson, who was first in both the 100 and 200 at the 2006 Prep B track meet.
"This year I'm playing more, I'm getting more used to passing with Jackie and Kelly and Eleanor. I'm getting used to it, slowly and surely." "I've learned a lot from track; it helps to keep me fit aerobically," explained Johnson. "It also puts things in perspective; they aren't as fast on the field as they are on the track. Track and field is more individual."
Stuart head coach Missy Bruvik is pleased with the individual improvement she has seen in Johnson. "She's just getting better and better," said Bruvik, referring to her junior star.
"She keeps the ball alive. She has good momentum whether she's going down the sidelines or she is in the circle. She's a track kid and it's great to see her carry the ball with that kind of control."
Stuart certainly controlled things offensively in its win over Hun, outshooting the Raiders 35-1. "In the first half, we definitely put the pressure on," said Bruvik, who also got goals from Kelly Bruvik and Amy Sismondo.
"We got the shots off; we applied enough pressure for the rebounds. Going into the second half, we talked about following your own ball. I thought in the second half we finished. We were in good position, finishing on the post."
The Stuart defense, led by Liz Colicchio and Janae Harrington, was a wall in the Hun game, repelling just about every Raider advance up the field.
"They do a good job," said Bruvik in assessing her team's stingy defense. "Janae is calm under pressure; she cleans it wide with power. I know the goalies are happy to have Janae in front of them."
Bruvik thinks her team has some good things in front of it as it looks forward to defending its Mercer County Tournament title and competing in the state Prep tourney.
"I think they want to continue to play at this level and play the game as it comes," said Bruvik, whose team plays at Pingry on October 11 before hosting Princeton High on October 13. "If they play with this kind of intensity and effort, I'll be thrilled regardless of what happens."
Johnson, for her part, thinks Stuart can reach a higher level. "I think we just bond on and off the field," said Johnson.
"When you play together from the beginning of August to hopefully the first Sunday in November, there is just something that happens, that clicks. We have some tough games coming up but if we keep getting better, there will be no stopping us."
And with Johnson getting better and better, Stuart looks like it will be awfully tough to stop.
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