FULL BOYLE: Princeton High field hockey player Tessa Boyle, center, dribbles upfield in recent action. Last Friday, junior forward Boyle scored the lone goal for PHS as it played to a 1-1 overtime tie with Hopewell Valley. The Tigers, who defeated Lawrence 8-2 last Monday to improve to 4-1-1, host Steinert on September 30 before playing at Princeton Day School on October 2 and at the Lawrenceville School on October 5. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Having moved into more of an attacking role for the Princeton High field hockey team this fall, Tessa Boyle is emerging as a force in the circle.
“I am playing a new position this year, I used to play center mid and now I am a center forward,” said junior Boyle. “For me, that has been a change but I really like it. That has been a very exciting change. As a team we have been playing more offensively this
year because more of our
experience in on the offense.”
Last Friday as PHS hosted Hopewell Valley, Boyle displayed her offensive skill as she blasted in a goal with two seconds left in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Boyle cashed in on a feed from Emerson Barker who headed into the circle after gathering in a long pass from Lila Casto out of the midfield.
“Lila and Emmy are always like playmakers, I try to capitalize and do good by their passes,” said Boyle. “It was right place, right time. I was very excited.”
Boyle and her teammates were excited to battle HoVal. “It was such a close game last year in the CVC (tournament),” said Boyle. “They are such a strong team. We knew coming into this that it wouldn’t be easy at all and
it wasn’t.”
HoVal knotted the game at 1-1 in the second quarter and the game turned into a nail-biter. PHS dominated possession and generated several scoring chances but couldn’t break through with a second goal. The Bulldogs, for their part, responded with some counter attacks up the field and a late flurry in the circle at the end of the fourth quarter but was also unable to score as the game headed into overtime.
“There was definitely a lot of frustration,” said Boyle, reflecting on the Tigers’ failure to tally the go-ahead goal. “Even though they caught up, I feel like the morale stayed high. Everyone stayed super in the game no matter how many shots they missed. I am really proud of us. We do this (overtime) a lot at practice so we definitely felt prepared.”
While the Tigers carried play in the 10-minute OT where the teams are reduced to a 7-on-7 player setup, they failed to cash in on their opportunities. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
“One didn’t go in on our side,” said Boyle, reflecting on the extra session. “It is not a win but I don’t feel like it is a loss either. It is also knowing what to look for in overtime games going forward.”
Boyle along with classmates Heidi Johnson and Cassie Farran have been looking for each other in the circle.
“The whole forward line is juniors, we have all been playing together for a while,” said Boyle. “We are definitely very in synch and we are close on and off the pitch and that definitely helps.”
PHS head coach Heather Serverson credited her squad with having its possession game in synch against the Bulldogs.
“Generally speaking, I thought the passing looked great today,” said Serverson. “We started off with a lot of intensity that we don’t normally start off with and that has been one of our goals. I was really happy with that today. The passing was on point, stick to stick. We did a great job, just peppering the goal. We had good corners up there. We just couldn’t seem to find the board.”
Boyle did find the board with her tally. “I moved her up from high mid to center forward because she is so feisty and brave,” said Serverson of Boyle. “They self-start with a little touch first and she just moves right in on that and she is getting so many good offensive opportunities out of that.”
The Tigers have been getting some good work from their attacking players.
“It is just being more mindful and patient and composed in the moment, that is really what I am trying to get them to do,” said Serverson. “They have been playing together for a while so it is really starting to look good. Our entire forward line is finally starting to click. Heidi and Cassie and Tessa and Emmy, I wouldn’t even say one over the other, they have all really stepped up their game. Charlie [Flanagan] has been playing skillful too.”
In taking on a scrappy HoVal squad, PHS had to step up its game.
“Hopewell is always a quality program, they are a physical team much in the way of the old Allentown teams,” said Serverson. “We did a good job with team defense but we didn’t stop them coming down the middle. They have a couple of speedy players and they got a hold of the ball.”
The Tigers were up to speed in the overtime as they were on attack for most of the 10-minute sudden victory session.
“We have done a lot of OT practice this year, that was our conditioning,” said Serverson. “We didn’t sprint, we only played OT for like an hour. In a way, it is almost easier to play overtime because everything just opens up. You can see a lot more. We can take advantage because we have a couple of speedy players up there that we really try to get the ball to and they did a great job of trying to get there today. We just couldn’t finish, how many times did we miss the goal by inches. It is amazing to see what they can do because they were exhausted. They had more energy in that last three minutes of overtime after playing an entire game.”
With the Tigers, who defeated Lawrence 8-2 last Monday to improve to 4-1-1, hosting Steinert on September 30 before playing at Princeton Day School on October 2 and at the Lawrenceville School on October 5, Serverson believes her squad is heading in the right direction.
“I am happy that we are holding steady, we are not giving up,” said Serverson. “We are trying to maintain the same level of intensity from the start to the finish. We are trying to just stay positive and work on our strengths which is basically that passing game and our speed. We need to be tested some more. I am really happy that they tested us the way that they did.”
Boyle, for her part, likes the intensity the Tigers have been showing this season.
“Once we get a goal we have a two-minute rule that we try to capitalize in the two minutes after the goal,” said Boyle. “We have been very strong with that but something we need to work on is starting strong at the beginning of games.”