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Princeton Packet Athlete of Week:
Koerte has Princeton Day skaters off to fast start
Alex Koerte
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By Justin Feil
Princeton Packet Sports Writer
Friday, Dec. 10, 1999
Getting out to a fast start is helpful for any team, let alone the defending Prep A girls' ice hockey champion Princeton Day School.
The Panthers wanted to show that last year's 17-1-1 mark was no fluke. It took Alex Koerte just under three minutes to get the first PDS goal of the new season. From there, the Panthers poured it on in a 9-1 win against Radnor last Wednesday.
PDS followed that up last Friday with a 6-1 victory over Pingry in which Koerte again scored the first goal, and she added a second goal less than a minute later. The senior forward had also scored a second goal in the Radnor game.
"I never thought much about it," Koerte said of the season- opening goals. "When I'm out on the ice, I don't think about that. It's second nature to want to score."
But with four goals in three days, the co-captain fittingly has taken an early lead for the Panthers.
Alex Koerte is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
"I have a lot of support behind me," said the Pennington resident, who scored 13 goals last year to go with eight assists. "This year, I'm hoping to have more goals. I'm trying to step it up. I guess I'm stepping into that role as a goal-scorer. I just want them to be more important goals."
Last year, Koerte's final goal — the first in a 2-1 overtime win in the PDS tournament final against Rye Country Day — was one of the Panthers' most important. But Koerte can do more to lead her team than just scoring.
"Not only is she a leader on ice, but she's a leader in spirit," PDS head coach Meghan Hishmeh said. "She's there for the team. She really makes sure everyone's serious when they have to be. The girls picked her so she's really well respected.
"She's a go-getter. Whenever I teach a new skill, she'll try it until she gets it. And she's a thinker, too. She knows the game and that helps us so much."
Koerte began developing her hockey skills as a sixth grader after listening to some neighborhood boys talking about hockey.
KOERTE'S FAVORITES:
Athlete: John LeClair
Subject: English
Movie: "Top Gun"
Place to be: Skiing in Colorado
Food: Pizza
Sports moment: Scored first goal in 2-1 overtime win over Rye Country Day School in PDS Tournament last year.
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"They always talked about it," she remembered. "They had all these stories and it sounded like a lot of fun. I asked my mom about it, and she said, 'Absolutely not.'
"But I went out and I found all this information on my own, and I came back and told her who to call to get more information. She saw I was serious about it and said, 'Fine, as long as you're not the goalie.'"
Since then Koerte has played almost every position but goalie. The 5-foot-2 spark plays more defense than offense on the Tiger Lilies traveling team. But on PDS, she's mainly a left wing on the Panthers' top line. Regardless of where Koerte plays, her effort is the same.
"She's a player that gives 110 percent on every shift," Hishmeh said. "We use her on offense and defense. Right now, we only have three defensemen, so we can use her as a fourth defender in our tighter games. And she plays the point on the power play. She's very versatile."
Koerte admits, however, that her small stature will probably force her to play offense if she tries to play hockey next fall in college. But for the moment, she is concentrating on PDS.
"I know we can have that same success this year," Koerte said. "We lost some good players, but so did everyone. I've had to step up and be more of a leader. My own individual goal is just to keep improving. I want to be a leader and be the best captain I can be."
After last week's four-goal performance, Koerte — like PDS — is off to a good start.
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