With Junior Hannah Emerging as Standout, Stuart Field Hockey Showing Improvement
Tori Hannah has been talking more on the field this fall in her junior season with the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team.
“I think I am communicating more with the team and am helping them with stopping the ball and boosting their spirits,” said Hannah.
Last Wednesday, Hannah boosted her team’s spirits with her stickwork, scoring goals on penalty corners right before halftime and at the end of regulation as Stuart pulled out a thrilling 2-1 won over South Hunterdon.
“I have been working on my hits and my stick and ball skills and it’s come a long way,” said Hannah. “It has been great.”
In Hannah’s view, Stuart’s 5-0 win over Nottingham in a Mercer County Tournament (MCT) play-in game a day earlier gave the Tartans a big boost coming into the South Hunterdon contest.
“I think the win from yesterday really helped us in this game today,” said Hannah. “I think we were really pumped. We were ready to win and we really brought it.”
Even though Stuart fell behind 1-0 in the early going against South Hunterdon, Hannah and her teammates weren’t fazed.
“I think we were concerned but we didn’t let it take over our game,” said Hannah. “We still played a hard game; we tried to get back and we did.”
The Tartans showed some game with its penalty corner execution in the waning moments.
“It looks complicated but we pulled it off and it was such a great feeling,” said Hannah. “I was ecstatic, it was amazing.”
Having struggled in the early going this fall, the victory over South Hunterdon was sweet for the Tartans.
“It means the world, we have practiced so hard this year,” said Hannah.
“To come out against a really hard team and beat them was great. I think we have been more intense and we have wanted it a lot more than the other teams. We have just come out strong and stayed strong throughout the whole game.”
Stuart head coach Missy Bruvik liked the strength of character her team displayed in pulling out the win, battling rain showers along with a tough foe.
“I thought we did a great job keeping the ball inside of our attacking zone,” said Bruvik.
“It was very important to get that goal in the first half. We talked about that, we said we have to call that timeout before the end of the half and not wait until halftime. They play better with urgency. You give them the small goals and they accomplish them. We were trying to build off of that.”
In Bruvik’s view, the Tartans showed a good build up offensively against South Hunterdon. “I thought the midfield did a great job of supporting the offensive line this time,” said Bruvik.
“I am seeing the attack push up and really make more of an effort to get in the circle and finish. That had been a struggle for us the first half of the season.”
Hannah is providing Stuart with some good production on attack. “Tori had a huge game today,” said Bruvik. “She has better decision-making, she is staying poised. She is a good communicator on the field, she talks a lot. I am seeing improvement.”
Junior Sam Servis has improved as the season has gone along. “Sam had a big game yesterday,” said Bruvik. “She is starting to take it to the goal. She is understanding that with that talent, we need her in the circle. Her assets and skills are important to us.”
Another important factor in the win over South Hunterdon was Stuart’s work at the defensive end.
“We gave up an early goal but we hung tough; I thought the defense did a better job stepping up to the ball,” said Bruvik.
“I think South Hunterdon’s attack gave us a really good challenge. They are a big hitting team.”
While Stuart ended up falling to Princeton High in the opening round of MCT last Saturday, Bruvik feels her team can do some damage in the state Prep B tourney.
“The kids don’t dwell on the record, they are taking it game by game,” said Bruvik, whose team is seeded sixth in the Prep B tournament and plays at No. 3 Pennington on October 22 in a first round contest.
“I feel like we are definitely stepping up. I think the kids are realizing that the season is coming to an end.”
Hannah and her teammates are looking to get the most out of the season.
“We are going to have to play our hearts out in every single game,” said Hannah, who had a goal and an assist as Stuart topped Nottingham 4-0 last Monday in an MCT consolation contest to improve to 5-12.
“We have to practice with intensity. I think we just need to be ready and have our heads in the game all the time.”