ON GUARD: Princeton High field hockey goalie Emily Suttmeier, left, guards the cage in recent action. Last Wednesday, senior star Suttmeier made 24 saves in a losing cause as PHS fell 2-1 to Notre Dame. The Tigers, who moved to 7-4 with a 4-3 loss to Montgomery last Saturday, will be starting play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament this week where they are seeded third and will host 14th-seeded Nottingham in a first round contest on October 15. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
As the Princeton High field hockey team held its annual Senior Day celebration last Wednesday before it hosted Notre Dame, the ceremony triggered some deep emotions for Emily Suttmeier.
“I was about to cry,” said senior goalie Suttmeier. “I have played here my whole career, it is such a great team. It is such a great bond with the team. Everyone is awesome. I have so much support from my teammates and my coaches.
With Notre Dame dominating possession in the early going, Suttmeier played her heart out to hold off the Irish as the rivals played to a scoreless tie through the first 27 minutes of the contest.
“I always have to remind myself right away that I have to be ready to save the ball,” said Suttmeier. “I just focus on my mental aspect of stuff. That is what really got me through this.”
Suttmeier displayed her focus in the waining seconds of the first quarter as she came way out of goal to repel a Notre Dame rush.
“I was hoping that my defense was behind me, I like going out (of goal), I like shootouts,” said Suttmeier. “I go out and then I was oh, I am here. I should probably stay up here. I knew the time was going out and I was like yay, I think I am good.”
Despite Suttmeier’s brilliant play, Notre Dame scored with 2:44 left in the first half and then went ahead 2-0 with a third quarter goal. PHS responded with a goal by Charlie Flanagan early in the fourth quarter but neither team scored after that as the Irish prevailed 2-1.
“We were really focused on supporting each other, putting in the effort, going to every ball and marking the post,” said Suttmeier, who ended up with 24 saves in the game as the Irish outshot the Tigers 26-4. “We did a very good job in the second half with that and we came back. We still played really hard. I love how we came back in the fourth quarter.”
While the defeat stung, Suttmeier believes that being pushed by Notre Dame will pay dividends as the Tigers get into postseason play.
“It is very good when you have games where everyone is challenged,” said Suttmeier. “We had games where it was like oh I am not going to get any practice. I got a lot of practice today but it was really good because my defense was supporting me. Sofia [DiGioacchino], Ani [Bettencourt], and Bella [Brescia], they are all amazing. They always support me, I know that they are there.”
Suttmeier has practiced hard all year to bring up her game.
“Last year was my first year starting and then I have been playing club since sophomore year at Princeton Field Hockey Club,” said Suttmeier. “The people there are great, they really helped me. Then I train with Emily Snowden, the goalie trainer over in Malvern which is really helpful. It is something you love. This summer I went to train with Dutch goalies in Antwerp, Belgium.”
As a result of all of that work, Suttmeier has developed a greater confidence level in the circle.
“I feel like I thrive when I am going out and pressuring,” said Suttmeier, who has committed to attend the University of the South and play for its field hockey program. “I have been focusing on staying back maybe for some shots. I just need to focus on decision-making. Communication is something I am always working on during practice, club, everywhere I go. The basics are very important.”
PHS head coach Heather Serverson credited Suttmeier with keeping the Tigers in the game as Notre Dame dominated possession.
“Emily had a lot of pressure on her today as did the whole defensive line,” said Serverson. “She held on for us in a big, big way. She has been doing some great decision-making for us, knowing when to hold back and knowing when to come out. She has really been working hard on that and you can see a difference on the field for sure.”
The team’s group of seniors has made a difference collectively for the program.
“They have been a solid core group together now over four years,” said Serverson, whose Class of 2026 includes Nicki Lee, Sienna Lutkowski, Jessica Marschner, and Sarah Cate Walker in addition to DiGioacchino, Bettencourt, and Suttmeier. “They have done great things out of season, many of them play together year round. They really care about the program and the culture. They have done their best to make sure that they have been great leaders.”
With PHS trailing 1-0 at halftime, Serverson urged her players to pick up the intensity.
“The halftime message was let’s play our game, I feel like we didn’t have the urgency that we needed,” said Serverson. “That has been our issue all season, every game we say we need to be first to every ball. We are more reactive as opposed to proactive. I am trying to get them to learn the balance of the two and we are getting there. It is taking time.”
The Tigers displayed some urgency as sophomore Flanagan battled through a throng in the circle to push the ball into the back of the cage.
“The tush push goal, that is what it looked like,” said a grinning Serverson. “They were determined to get a goal and it worked. We just couldn’t do that early enough or often enough. Notre Dame came to play. They played very well today and we did not play our best.”
Serverson pointed to the play of junior midfielder Lila Casto as the template for her teammates.
“Lila gives 200 percent the entire time,” said Serverson. “If we could just get everyone on the field to do that, we would be unstoppable.”
The Tiger back line gave their all as they held the fort against the Irish onslaught.
“Sophia, Ani and Bella and the whole defensive line was under so much pressure,” said Serverson. “So we had to emphasize that our mids need to come back and help and even our forwards sometimes. Notre Dame has their whole team up in the offensive zone. It had to be a team effort today and we just couldn’t quite pull it off.”
On offense, Walker and sophomore Tessa Boyle have working well with Casto.
“Skate has been super feisty on the front line,” said Serverson. “Tess has also been doing a really good job, she plays opposite of Lila. One is high mid, one is a low mid and they have been working a lot making sure that they are both not up at the same time. They have been working on their communication. It is settling in. Hopefully once we get to tournament time, those things will click.”
With the Tigers starting play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament this week where they are seeded third and will host 14th-seeded Nottingham in a first round contest on October 15, Serverson believes that the Tigers can take away some good lessons from the Notre Dame game.
“It is definitely good prep as long as we learn from it and move forward, making these changes,” said Serverson, whose team moved to 7-4 with a 4-3 loss to Montgomery last Saturday.
In Suttmeier’s view, PHS is moving in the right direction.
“I think we can do it if we just keep the energy going the whole game,” said Suttmeier. “When we have that energy and just keep going through which we did today, we can win. As a team, we have improved so much through the season. We are growing, we never stop. We can play any game. We can come back as a team, we proved that today.”