Sports

(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) POWER SKATING: Princeton University women’s hockey forward Charissa Stadnyk skates hard up the ice in a game last winter. Sophomore Stadnyk figures to be in full throttle this weekend as Princeton opens its 2009-10 season with games at the University of Vermont on October 23 and 24.

Learning from Last Season’s Playoff Exit, PU Women’s Hockey Hungry for Big Winter

Bill Alden

Heading into the ECAC hockey playoffs this past March, the Princeton University women’s hockey team was sizzling.

Going 16-4-2 after a 2-5 start, the Tigers rose to third in the ECACH final standings and appeared poised to make a stirring playoff run.

But Princeton’s postseason only lasted only two days as sixth-seeded Renssalaer and its hot goalie Sonja van der Bliek slammed the door on the Tigers, giving up only one goal in two games as it swept the best-of-three opening round series.

Senior Star Hellstern Standing Tall in Goal as Gritty PHS Boys’ Soccer Starts 10-0-3

Bill Alden

It has been one nailbiter after another this fall for the Princeton High boys’ soccer team this fall and last week’s game against Steinert proved to be no exception.

Despite generating several good scoring chances, PHS went into halftime knotted at 0-0 with the pesky Spartans.

Although the tight game put PHS senior goalie Steve Hellstern under the gun again, he wasn’t fazed.

PHS Boys’ Cross Country Making Strides; Primed for County and State Competitions

Bill Alden

John Woodside likens progress in cross country to the formation of a glacier.

“You can improve but it takes time; you are not going to go from 20 minutes (for a 5k) to 17 overnight or even in one season,” said Woodside, the Princeton High boys’ cross country head coach.

Woodside believes that his team this fall is heading to the top of its glacier.

Sparked by Hallowell’s Goal in Hamilton Win, Stuart Field Hockey Starts Another MCT Run

Bill Alden

On paper, it looked like the fifth-seeded Stuart Country Day School field hockey team wouldn’t have much trouble as it hosted No. 12 Hamilton last Friday in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament.

Although Kristi Hallowell and her Stuart teammates dominated possession from the opening whistle, they found themselves locked in a scoreless tie with the Hornets at halftime.

“They gave us a good fight,” said junior forward Hallowell. “We tried to dominate the game but they really kept in it. At halftime, our coach [Katie Grant] told us weren’t playing with intensity so she said to step it up and really, really put your heart out there.”

QB Leveson Gives the Boys a Lesson as Lone Girl in Pop Warner Football

Bill Alden

A couple of years ago, Malia Leveson turned some heads as she played catch while watching her older brother play for the Princeton Pop Warner football program.

Several parents suggested seven-year-old Malia handled the ball so well that she ought to think about playing football herself.

In 2008, Leveson joined the Mitey Mites program and played as a center, utilizing her ball-snapping prowess to help the team execute its single-wing offense.

This fall, Leveson has been getting to use the rest of her ball skills, moving to quarterback and running her team’s offense.