ON THE BALL: Stuart Country Day School field hockey player Molly Lagay controls the ball in recent action. Last week, junior star Lagay scored the winning goal as Stuart edged the George School (Pa.) 1-0 in overtime. The Tartans, who defeated Hamilton West 3-0 last Friday to improve to 4-1-1, are next in action when they play at Peddie on October 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Molly Lagay got herself in the right spot at the right time as the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team battled visiting George School (Pa.) in overtime last week.

With the teams knotted in a scoreless tie as the extra session began, Stuart junior star and co-captain Lagay headed to the corner of the goal and pounced on a rebound and blasted it home to give Stuart a 1-0 victory.

“On the first shot we did on the corner, I saw Kaitlyn [Magnani] hit it right and it was so close, I almost got it on the post,” recalled Lagay.

“I saw that Caroline [Mullen] was coming in and was heading toward that post. I sat there and got in that space where I thought it was going to go. It went right there and I hit it in.”

During regulation, Stuart dominated possession but struggled to get one in.

“We all knew what we needed to do, we just needed to execute,” said Lagay.

“It was a little frustrating at first but I feel like in the second half, we pressured it in more and tried to get it to a spot where we could finish it.”

For Lagay, playing with senior and fellow captain Mullen has helped her find the rights spots on the field.

“Caroline likes to move around a lot so I let her move and I adjust to that,” said Lagay.

“I try to get a deflection if she hits it in or get into a space where she needs me to. I let her spark things because that is what she likes to do and then I work off of that:” As a team captain, Lagay has tried to be a spark for the squad’s younger players.

“My role has changed a lot from freshman year to last year to this year,” said Lagay.

“We lost a lot of players, I think it brought our team together. We are smaller so we have to work together more and I am taking more responsibility for talking on the field and commanding things. I am also helping new players learn what they have to do because we have a lot of freshmen on our team this year. It is a change of pace for me but I am trying to embrace it.”

With two seasons under her belt, Lagay has changed her approach to the game.

“I feel like last year it was a lot more in my head,” said Lagay.“This year I am just playing the game and not thinking as much which has allowed me to do the things that I need to do.”

Playing basketball for the Tartans in the winter has helped Lagay be more hard-nosed when it comes to field hockey. 

“It is the same attack mentality- reading and reacting, just doing what you have to do and pushing through,” said Lagay, who also plays for the Stuart lacrosse team. “If we have a bad play, it is going on to the next play.”

Stuart head coach Missy Bruvik was not surprised that Lagay pushed in the decisive goal against George.

“Molly works hard all of the time in terms of her fitness and being prepared for whatever season she is playing,” said Bruvik. “She came through.”

Bruvik credited her squad with sticking with things as the George defense thwarted the Tartans in the circle.

“I think every kid on that field worked hard today,” said Bruvik. “We just were lacking some communication. I thought their goalie played a good game and had some beautiful saves

“We did the same thing in the second half, I thought we applied even pressure in both halves but just didn’t finish. It was an outstanding job by George, not just the keeper but their defense in the circle.”

With Stuart continuing to apply pressure in the extra session, Bruvik sensed that her team would eventually break through.

“I am very happy with our overtime play,” said Bruvik. “We knew what it was going to be about, getting the shot off and maybe having to collect on a rebound.”

The play of sophomore Kaitlyn Magnani and Mullen has helped Stuart get more shots.

“Kaitlyn and Caroline are doing a great job, they play well together in the midfield,” said Bruvik.

“We have pushed Kaitlyn up the field a little bit and today, we thought let’s push both of them up and see if we can generate a little more attack.”

Sophomore goalie Audrey Blandford came up big when it counted against George, making some big stops in the waning moments of regulation.

“Audrey hadn’t taken many shots in the game and then they came down and got a corner and she was there,” said Bruvik. “It was not easy to be mentally in the game, that was good for her.”

Going forward, Bruvik is looking for her players to be sharper mentally, particularly in penalty corner situations.

“We have to focus on our corners and our communication; we have to be more organized,” said Bruvik, whose team defeated Hamilton West 3-0 last Friday to improve to 4-1-1 and will next be in action when it plays at Peddie on October 2.

“It is decision-making on the corners and just setting up the plays based on how the other team runs their defense and working on our inserts. We will work on them. We are two weeks into this and that is what we said to the kids there is a long road ahead. They have all been one-goal games.”

In Lagay’s view, the victory over George could be a turning point for the Tartans.

“It was really good that we finished this with a win; I think we are going to go into our next few games and build on this momentum and hopefully pull out a winning season this year,” said Lagay.

“We need to work on our finishing; it is just positioning in the circle and getting our bodies low and keeping our sticks down and using the power that I know we have and are not utilizing right now.”