Molly Stutte, Macy Budd provide potent 1-2 senior punch for Cor Jesu (2024)

By Greg Uptain, Special to the Post-Dispatch

Cor Jesu field hockey coach Audrey Ploesser is very much looking forward to watching her strong 1-2 punch in seniors Molly Stutte and Macy Budd for one more season.

“I’m really excited for those two this year because they’ve been together for so long now, so it’s fun for them to finish off their high school days together,” Ploesser said. “We have eight seniors this year and those two are obviously big leaders on the field and everyone seems to be playing off of them and taking their lead. It feels like all of our seniors’ games have risen because of being around those two.”

Stutte, a center forward, was fifth in the area last season with 26 goals, tied for fourth with 17 assists and third in the scoring race with 69 points.

“She’s just incredible,” Budd said. “So hard working and her IQ of the game is so high. She always knows what to do and where to go.”

Stutte’s numbers have steadily improved over the course of her three seasons with the Chargers.

“I feel like every year she has gotten better, and I think that’s due to her being an incredibly dedicated player. She loves the sport. She just loves to practice. She’s one of those rare kids where I don’t have to do much to push her,” Ploesser said. “She’s incredibly gifted with the stick and ball and moving around people. She is one of the best dribblers I’ve ever seen. She can just weave in and out of people so easily, it looks effortless. And then she’s just got a real knack the moment she gets in the circle and gets any opportunity on cage to hit it in.”

Budd plays the all-important center midfielder position and dished out 14 helpers last fall.

“She’s very consistent and hard-working,” Stutte said. “She’s always up to go get the ball and work her hardest to get it up the field.”

Ploesser said Budd’s position on the field makes her an important part of everything the Chargers do.

“That center-mid is such a crucial unifier for our defensive and forward line. She’s had to pull those groups together and she’s done a great job of that,” Ploesser said. “She’s in that crucial position of just constant movement, super fit and in shape. She defends, she brings people on the offensive, she unifies the center of the field. I think she’s got great defensive skills and is incredibly talented with stick and ball.”

Stutte and Budd met during their freshman year at Cor Jesu and became instant friends, which has also helped the on-field product.

“I think me and Macy have grown so much together,” Stutte said. “We know what each other are going to do. We have that chemistry and really connect well on the field. Our friendship off the field has helped us on the field.”

Added Budd, “We have become the best of friends on and off the field. I feel like we’re very connected. As we’ve gotten closer, I feel like I kind of know what she wants to do on the field and vice versa.”

The strong 1-2 punch Stutte and Budd provides will be key for a Chargers team that finished 15-5 last season and made their fourth straight state final four appearance and 12th in the last 13 years.

But Cor Jesu— which begins its season this weekend at the big, three-day Gateway Classic Tournament at SportPort International—has lost each of its last six semifinal appearances since advancing to the final in 2016, so the goal this fall is to get to the championship game and win it.

“We need to play without regrets,” Stutte said. “A lot of times we’ve got to the final four game and then haven’t played our field hockey. I’m excited to see what the team can do this year.”

“I think we need to continue to work hard and continue to elevate our game,” Budd said. “We’re obviously a grass team and we have to not let playing on other surfaces get in our heads. I’m so excited. I feel like it’s been kind of a long preseason.”

The pair are both Division I recruits with Stutte committed to play at Indiana and Budd slated to stay home and play at St. Louis University.

“They’re both in such a fun spot to be in where they’re ready to play this season but you can also tell they’re excited that they’re not done and get to keep playing after this,” Ploesser said. “They’ve both loved the game since they were little, so it’s fun to see them continue it forward.”