April 22, 2015

Buoyed by Senior Dwyer’s Steadying Influence, Hun Girls’ Lax Rallies to Edge PDS in OT Thriller

As a four-year starter for the Hun School girls’ lacrosse team, Erica Dwyer looks to be a steadying influence on the field for the squad.

“I calm everything down,” said star midfielder Dwyer. “Once I get the ball down low, I can settle things. Some of the younger players just want to get the ball and go, that is not my style. You need to settle it down and catch them off their guard.”

Last Friday, Dwyer’s experience and coolness under fire paid dividends as Hun rallied from a 9-5 second half deficit at Princeton Day School to pull out a thrilling 14-13 overtime victory.

Inspired by the fact that new coach Liz Cook was a longtime assistant at PDS, Dwyer and her teammates weren’t daunted by the second half deficit.

“We always have hope and faith in each other that we can pull it out and win the game,” said Dwyer. “I know that coach was here before, we were playing for her.”

Dwyer scored two goals in the rally, taking off from behind the net and using the athleticism that helped her star for the Hun girls’ basketball program.

“That little move, that crease roll behind the goal is my move, I am very comfortable with it,” said Dwyer, who also competed in soccer and cross country at Hun and is headed to Bryn Mawr College where she plans to play basketball and lacrosse.

“Actually a coach two years ago, Tim Pitts, who used to help us out, taught me that move. Definitely my basketball moves help.”

While Dwyer enjoyed finding the back of the net, she is more focused on getting her teammates involved in the scoring.

“I try to set up the plays,” said Dwyer, who ended the day with two goals and three assists.

“I am usually the feeder on all of our plays, getting the other people the goals. It is not really in my nature to just want goals, assists definitely make my game stronger.”

In reflecting on Hun’s dramatic comeback, Dwyer pointed to the team’s strong character and sense of urgency.

“We definitely have heart,” asserted Dwyer. “Our team motto is today, not tomorrow and we definitely focused on that. We wanted to win it today before we could move on to our next game.”

The Hun team showed a lot of heart under new head coach Cook. “She gives a lot of energy to the team,” said Dwyer. “She motivates us to play at our highest level. She makes it a family, really.”

Cook, for her part, liked the way her squad raised the level of its play after digging the 9-5 hole.

“I think we called a timeout and the kids had this fire in their eyes; they wanted it and I kept saying do you want it; they wanted it, they professed it to us. I think Lindsay Ruddy’s goal made them realize they could score and I think it just opened them up. They were ready to explode, they are such a talented group and they have the ability.”

Sophomore Kate Davis showed her ability in tallying the winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in overtime.

“She is probably the quickest kid on my team; she has excellent ability with the ball,” said Cook of Davis. “I just knew once she had it on her stick, she would run it down there. She can beat everybody on this field. When it was on her stick at the end, I knew we were going to win.”

Hun would not have won the game without the play of sophomore Maddie McNulty, who made 18 saves.

“She can make those saves under pressure, she is the ultimate goalie in that way,” said Cook. “She doesn’t feel it. I ask her what she is feeling when you are down there and she says I don’t feel nervous. She works hard.”

Cook feels good when Dwyer is triggering the Hun offense. “I feel really confident when the ball is on her stick,” said Cook of Dwyer, who chipped in two goals and two assists to help Hun defeat Stuart Country Day 15-11 last Monday and improve to 3-3.

“She will look to me to see if she can roll. She is just a really coachable kid. I knew when she could roll and when she couldn’t. She looked to me and she just went, I know she is very powerful on the roll, that worked for her many times today.”

In the win over PDS, freshman Nicole Apuzzi went on a roll, scoring a game-high five goals.

“She is an all around athlete, she is tough, she is competitive,” added Cook of Apuzzi, who helped the Hun girls’ soccer team win the state Prep A title last fall. “She has a great stick, she is quick and she also has the endurance from being a soccer player. She can run the whole field all day long.”

In Cook’s view, great togetherness is a key to her team’s promising 3-3 start. “We have such heart, I was just telling them they are the ultimate team,” said Cook, whose team defeated Stuart Country Day 15-11 last Monday to improve to 3-3 and will look to keep on the winning track when they play at Peddie on April 16 and then host
Hopewell Valley on April 17.

“They believe in each other and stand by each other, they have a gift in that way. There isn’t any drama on our team and they take care of each other. They knew when we were down, we could come back and they believed. They kept saying we believe and that was our motto, believe. Before we went to bed we had a group chat last night, we were saying goodnight, we believe, we believe.”

After a 15-year tenure coaching at PDS, Cook had mixed emotions after Friday’s game.

“I love those kids, it is really
hard for me,” said Cook, referring to her former PDS charges.

“This was a really tough day. It was hard for me to see the disappointment in their eyes but fun for me to see the competition out there and to see that my kids can compete with a top team in the area.”

Dwyer, for her part, is confident that Hun will keep competing hard.

“I think it is definitely going to give us momentum,” said Dwyer, reflecting on the win over PDS. “We really brought it today and I think we will continue to bring it.”