Stuart Country Day Field Hockey off to a Winning Start

Despite a slow start to the 2010 season, Stuart Country Day School field hockey placed second in the state Prep B Tournament.

And judging by by the team's 6-0 win over The George School in the season opener on Friday, Sept.9 Stuart has taken that momentum into the current season.

"Offensively, we played really well," said Julie Martelli, who is beginning her second coaching season. "We had great circle play. We had great runs down the field. To score six goals, you have to be persistent."

Seniors Kassidy McNair and Colleen Baker, who both play forward position, each scored two goals for Stuart in the win. 

Angela Gallagher, another senior forward, also scored. The other goal was scored by Nikki Starke, a junior midfielder.

This was more than enough offense for Margo Schmeiderer, the goalie. The senior is a returning starter and made seven saves in goal to record the shuout.

Margaret Lanasa, a sophomore, is also a goalie on the team.

Both goalies will benefit from a tough defense. Alex Taylor and Olivia Neubert are both seniors who play defense. Senior Susan Knox plays both defense and midfield.

The other defenders are underclassmen. Sophomores on the defense are Amy Hallowell and Megan Shannon. Fayette Plambeck, the lone freshman on varsity, also plays defense.

The other member of Stuart's team is Ani Hallowell, a midfielder.

Ani and Amy are following in the tradition of Kristi Hallowell, who graduated last year. Hallowell and Whitney Sharbonneau, who also graduated, were Stuart's leading scorers last season. Based on the opener, the team has figured out a way to fill some of the void created by the loss of these two girls.

"We were 8-14 last year, but we finished strong," Martelli said. "We'll be trying to improve on the record this year. I definitely do think we have a team that can compete for some titles, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves."

For right now, Stuart is focused on hosting Princeton Day School on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

"We're setting little goals right now," Martelli said. "We're trying to improve every game and every practice. Hopefully, that will take us to where we need to be."