FINE AND DANDY: Princeton Day School field hockey player Brynn Dandy dribbles upfield in recent action. Last Wednesday, star forward Dandy contributed an assist on her Senior Day to help PDS defeat Peddie 5-3. The Panthers, now 7-3, are next in action when they start play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament on October 15. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
For Brynn Dandy, the Senior Day celebration for the Princeton Day School field hockey team last Wednesday evoked a family feeling.
“It is the last season playing field hockey with my sister Sammy, that was definitely emotional,” said senior forward Dandy. “The group this year is really special. It is my favorite year that I have had here regarding the people.”
As PDS hosted Peddie, the Dandy sister act got things going for the Panthers as Brynn assisted on a goal by junior Sammy to go up 1-0.
“Our coach (Heather Farlow) always says go Dandy-to-Dandy and we tried to just do that, we do that in ice hockey too,” said Dandy, who also stars for the Panther state champion girls’ ice hockey team along with her sister. “In both sports, hockey and field hockey, we can be blindfolded and know where each other are.”
Sammy Dandy kept getting it done all game long, tallying four goals as PDS pulled away to a 5-3 win over the Falcons.
“It is almost hard to not be jealous of her but at the same time I am really proud of her,” said Dandy of her younger sister. “She just hit 50 points this game.”
The Panthers needed all of those points from the Dandy sisters as Peddie knotted the game at 2-2 early in the third quarter and kept battling to the final horn.
“We knew Peddie going in was not going to be an easy game, we knew it was going to be a tough opponent,” said Dandy. “We had similar scores going in with other teams so we knew. We knew we were going to have to work hard.”
Posting its fourth win in the last five games with the victory over Peddie, PDS is hitting its stride.
“Our last four or five games have been tough opponents,” said Dandy. “It definitely brought our team closer together.”
The Dandy connection has helped the team come together.
“Our coach realizes that me and Sammy work so well together, she moved my position so I could play with her,” said Dandy. “I was a goalie my freshman and sophomore year. My junior year I played midfield and then this year I switched to forward with Sammy so we could find each other.”
Dandy enjoys juggling field hockey and ice hockey along with her sister.
“It is a very similar position, me and Sammy play hockey together too,” said Dandy. “We play defense in hockey together and forward in field hockey together. It is an easy transition because we have each other.”
Going forward, Dandy believes the Panthers can play better and better as the season unfolds.
“We are definitely practicing on our formation, our corners, literally everything preparing for these tournaments,” said Dandy.
PDS head coach Farlow credits her group of seniors, which includes Amelia Lach, Kelly Stevens, Ishnoor Kaur, and Arden Reilly in addition to Dandy, with giving everything they have to the squad.
“They are so kind, they are so inclusive,” said Farlow. “They are competitive, they give 100 percent all of the time. They are just such a wonderful group to be around. They are a fun group to coach and a great group to lead.”
Farlow has had fun watching the Dandy sisters connect on the field.
“Brynn asked me early in the season if she could move up to the front line so I was yeah,” said Farlow. “Dandy-to-Dandy, that is what we call it. I was like I want a Dandy-to-Dandy today and they said a corner and I was a goal, I don’t care. They have really jelled, they know where each other are on the field. It transferred from playing ice hockey together to being here.”
PDS had to stay in the moment to hold off Peddie. “We knew that it was going to be a competitive game,” said Farlow. “They had a lot of speed and skill, we have some speed and skill. We knew that we would be pretty evenly matched.”
Sammy Dandy displayed her speed and skill as she took over the game in the second half with three straight goals.
“You can’t ask for more than a center forward who likes to score in different ways,” said Farlow of her junior star. “She is just such a smart player with her vision. She is one of the few field hockey players that you don’t have to teach to look up. Because of the ice hockey, she is already doing it. Her head is up, she sees where the goalie isn’t and puts the ball there.”
Sophomore midfielder Olivia Herscovici upped her game against the Falcons, tallying one goals and two assists in the win.
“Olivia had a huge game for us, she was amazing,” said Farlow. “She was a catalyst to transition from defense to offense today. She is a smart player.”
On the back line, senior Arden Reilly showed her smarts. “Arden is just a calm, cool, collected kid,” said Farlow. “She is very even-keeled, there is never a lot of highs or a lot of lows. She just goes to the ball and gets the job done. She just organizes the defense in front of her. She is wonderful.”
The win over Peddie was definitely a high for the Panthers.
“It was a beautiful day to play field hockey, it’s just trying to enjoy every moment and just realize that mistakes can be opportunities and just keep moving forward,” said Farlow. “It was definitely a confidence builder. I was just very excited with the outcome and the effort overall. It was great to see.”
Farlow is excited about her squad’s prospects. “I had to figure our best formation and where to play people but I think we have figured it out,” said Farlow, whose team is now 7-3 and will start play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament on October 15. “It is just continue to work hard and have fun.”
In Dandy’s view, having people on the team from the school’s New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) girls’ ice hockey championship squad gives the Panthers a competitive edge.
“People know that we won, we have five ice hockey players on this team,” said Dandy. “Because it is a such a small team, we all have chemistry and we bring that over from the ice to the field.”