Hun, PDS renew rivalry in season opener »
PRINCETON >> Two local boys lacrosse teams clashed Thursday for the first time in nearly two years because of COVID-19, and there was no better way to kick off the sport’s return than with another classic tussle between rivals.
Hun rallied from two goals down at halftime to win on the road at Princeton Day School, 8-6, in the Raiders’ first game with Jim Stagnitta as coach.
Stagnitta, who has 32 years of experience in the college and pro ranks including a nine-year stint as head coach at Rutgers, has worked with high school athletes before but is leading his own program for the first time.
“It’s a little bit hard for me sometimes because I coach college and professionally, and you can tell them to do something and they will do it,” Stagnitta said. “But these guys, what I’ve learned honestly and I’ve kind of known, they just need to learn how to do the fundamental things: move their feet, not throw the ball to someone who’s covered.”
Evan Wright and Matt Dorrian each netted two goals in the second half to lead the comeback for Hun, which eventually got into a groove as it applied more consistent pressure on PDS’ defense.
Hun was originally set to open April 5 against Episcopal Academy but instead entered a COVID-19 shutdown, so the Raiders are very much in a learning phase after limited practice time in March.
“We had no idea what it was going to look like or be. It wasn’t pretty,” Stagnitta said. “We’re learning as we play, kind of coaching them through some things. But the intensity in the second half, the guys played with more confidence and a little more sense of urgency. We were more aggressive.”
The Raiders also had to overcome a mid-game injury to Andrew Heubeck, a senior attackman committed to Colgate, who scored the first goal with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
Corbin Minard, Randall Brown and Ryan Donahue each added one goal. Brown also had an assist and scooped two ground balls, while Minard finished with a game-high nine ground balls.
“When 13 (Heubeck) went down I think it was a combination of their other guys offensively stepped up and kind of came out of their shell a little bit,” PDS coach Joe Moore said. “Defensively I think we kind of lost our legs. We played a lot of defense today. They were getting off the ball on every possession, so we played very little offense and our guys got tired I think at the end of the day. But their guys also stepped up.”
Gibson Linnehan, a senior defenseman committed to Providence College, starred for PDS with three goals. He found the back of the net twice within two minutes to tie the game at 6 with 4:38 remaining.
The game-tying goal came off a mistake from Hun as the Raiders failed to properly clear the ball and Linnehan made a heads-up play to score off a loose ball.
Donahue put Hun back in front with 3:32 left and then Dorrian put the finishing touches on the win by scoring his second goal with 2:04 remaining.
Still, the Panthers were impressive defensively overall and showed potential on offense with a deliberate attack featuring one goal apiece from Xander Gardener, Charlie Hogshire and Ollie Hall.
“No matter what, today was a win I think for both teams, just for lacrosse in this area,” Moore said. “It was great just to be back playing again. For our guys, I actually looked at it last night. It’s been 706 days since we put the jerseys on. So for us we kind of rallied around that.”
PDS next plays at Chestnut Hill Academy on Saturday. Hun will play its first home game Friday against Academy of the New Church.
“They’re learning every day and they’re getting better at it,” Stagnitta said. “They’re good athletes. Lacrosse is, to me, they’ve got to learn how to play the game — not just follow sets and run around. We’re trying to teach them how to play the game, and it’ll get easier as we go.”
Hun (1-0) 1 0 2 5 — 8 Princeton Day (0-1) 1 2 1 2 — 6
Goals — Wright 2, Dorrian 2, Heubeck, Minard, R. Brown, Donahue (H), Linnehan 3, Hogshire, Gardener, Hall (PDS). Assists — R. Brown (H), Hogshire 2, Kunkle (PDS).
Shots — 25 (H), 15 (PDS).
Saves — Carney 5 (H), Gellasch 10 (PDS).