KENNADI CENTER: Hun School field hockey player Kennadi Kroski looks to send the ball upfield last Saturday as Hun hosted Rome Free Academy (N.Y.). Sophomore star Kroski scored a goal to help Hun defeat Rome 5-2. The Raiders, who defeated Allentown High 4-0 on Monday to improve to 4-0, play at Penn Charter (Pa.) on September 17 and will then compete in the MAX Field Hockey High School National Invitational at the Conshohocken Proving Grounds in Pennsylvania where they will face Garrison Forest School (Md.) on September 19 and Guilderland High School (N.Y.) a day later. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Getting off to an impressive 2-0 start this season that saw it outscore its foes 13-0 in the process, the Hun School field hockey team was ready to test its skills against the Rome Free Academy, a New York state powerhouse.
Heading into the clash last Saturday against the visiting Black Knights, Hun sophomore star Kennadi Kroski acknowledged that the Raiders had the game circled on their calendar.
“We definitely came in knowing it was going to be a good hockey game,” said Kroski, noting that the team took a trip to Belgium and the Netherlands in August to help prepare it for the season. “We have been preparing a lot for this. We worked hard to be here and that shows.”
After falling behind 1-0 in the first quarter, Hun responded with a goal by Sloan Smylie early in the second quarter to tie the game.
“That was really critical, it definitely brought our energy up,” said Kroski, referring to the goal. “Our energy was high with the goal and all of us supporting each other. It really helped in keeping our momentum up.”
Trailing 2-1 heading into the fourth quarter, Kroski and her teammates were determined to turn the tide.
“This is our home, it was protect our turf, keep it going and keep the energy up,” said Kroski. “Everyone wants it so show it. We will not let a game be tied on our home turf, we are coming out with a win.”
After a goal from Camryn Arndt knotted the game at 2-2 with 13:45 left in regulation, Kroski scored 2:30 later to give Hun its first lead of the day.
“I am always in the front of the net,” said Kroski, who had totaled four goals in Hun’s first two games. “It is just being open. Those little cuts are all very necessary to being there open in that slot. You just have to go for it.”
Kroski’s tally opened the floodgates as Izzy Roche and Evelyn Miller each found the back of the cage for the Raiders as they pulled away to a 5-2 victory.
“All of our shifting, all of our passing and the long balls especially going down the sideline was helping get our momentum up the field,” said Kroski. “It was using our stick handling skills. Working at the top of the circle, that is really helping us.”
In reflecting on the triumph over the high-powered Black Knights, Kroski believes it will give Hun a lift.
“It is definitely a confidence builder, this was a great team,” said Kroski. “It was a good game. It shows we have our goals, trying to be a top team in the state. We are definitely working on our goals and this is a good confidence builder.”
Coming into the season, Kroski put in a lot of work to get up to speed and hone her skills.
“I was working really hard all summer, coming off of a knee injury,” said Kroski, noting that she tore her meniscus. “I was working really hard to get back from that, living here and coming down every day to the turf to shoot. It was working on those necessary skills, that is really helping.”
Kroski, who also stars at ice hockey, brings some toughness from the ice to the field.
“Sometimes I use a little bit of ice hockey, a little bit of body and getting some stick lifts come in,” said Kroski. “It is definitely helping with aggressiveness in the circle and all of that.”
Hun head coach Tracey Arndt knew that her squad had to be aggressive to be competitive against Rome.
“We definitely saw it as a big test,” said Arndt. “They have girls on the junior national team and they went 18-1 last year. For us, this game was about not caring necessarily about the wins and the losses but about what we can control, what our game plan is and what we can do.”
The Raiders stuck to the plan as they fought back from the early deficit.
“Sloan’s goal was really critical but for us it was really about the mentality of that,” said Arndt. “Sometimes when we go down a goal, the vibe goes down. We have really been focusing on the mental part of that. I am really proud that they were able to turn that around.”
Reflecting on Hun’s fourth quarter outburst, Arndt credited it to being focused all over the field.
“We knew that there were a couple of things that we could do to take advantage,” said Arndt. “We knew that we could use our speed. We knew that we could get ahead of the play and if we protected certain areas of the field then we would be in good shape. We just trusted each other. Scoring is fun.”
Arndt is having fun watching Kroski’s development. “You can see that she is a multi-sport athlete; her ice hockey IQ and field hockey IQ are coming together,” said Arndt of Kroski who scored two goals as Hun defeated Allentown High 4-0 on Monday to improve to 4-0. “She is a finisher so she finds her way to the net.”
The trio of freshmen Miller, Roche, and Cam Arndt, the coach’s daughter, showed their field hockey IQ with their finishing.
“The harder you work, the luckier you get,” said Arndt. “Those girls work really, really hard at their craft and they take a lot of reps. What we say often is that our practices should be so hard that the game seems easy. Isabel has done that shot thousands of times. We just tell her to keep shooting.”
The playmaking of junior midfielder Delaney Jones, who sparked the offense with a number of long hits up the sideline, helped Hun generate several good shots.
“She is a future D-I college player,” said Arndt of Jones. “She plays in the midfield, usually in the center. We moved her to the right because she is really creative and she sees the field very well. Sometimes in the center you get stuck, the outside gives her enough space to run.”
The Raider back line of senior Caroline Sirolly, sophomore Carol Frascella, sophomore Molly Kuhn, and junior Amanda Wolfe along senior goalie Lynsey Parrott held the fort against the Black Knights.
“Caroline’s leadership is undeniable, she thrives on it,” said Arndt.
“That left back position is so hard and Carol was a rock star back there today. Amanda really stepped up today. She is always so consistent. You don’t necessarily see her on the field, she is like an offensive guard to me. The five of them know each other.”
In assessing her squad’s sizzling start, Arndt cited skill, consistency, and resilience as key factors underlying its success.
“Our versatility has been really important for us, we can move people around into different positions based on our game plan,” said Arndt, whose team plays at Penn Charter (Pa.) on September 17 and will then compete in the MAX Field Hockey High School National Invitational at the Conshohocken Proving Grounds in Pennsylvania where they will face Garrison Forest School (Md.) on September 19 and Guilderland High School (N.Y.) a day later. “That is really important for us. That has been good. It is staying consistent, staying with our play and keeping possession. They are all good things for us. It is also fighting through whether we are up a goal or down a goal.”
In Kroski’s view, Hun has the potential to do some great things this fall.
“We are rolling with confidence now, this was a really crucial game,” said Kroski. “We are just ready to play. All of our preparation has come to now. This is our time, this is our year. Our team is great this year. It is our time to go to win these games.”