Leedham gets defensive for PHS girls’ soccer
By: Bob Nuse
Like most soccer players, Amy Leedham would love to be in a position to score goals.
But that’s not the role the senior is called on to fill for the Princeton High girls’ soccer team.
"I always want to score goals," said Leedham, who spends her time with the Little Tigers shifting between left back and left half. "But I also like it in the back. On defense, I still get chances to be offensive. That’s what happened when I scored my goal against Nottingham. I raced up along the sideline and had the element of surprise."
Leedham is part of a talented group in the back that has helped the Little Tigers get off to a 4-0 start this season. The last three of those wins came via shutout, as the team has allowed just one goal in four games.
"If you told me last year that we would start off like this I might not have believed it," said Leedham, who did score a goal in Princeton season-opening win over Nottingham. "But after our pre-season it was pretty inevitable that we could do this. This team plays really well together and we all get along so well."
Leedham has had a lot to do with that. While the offense has scored 12 goals in four games, the defense has been close to impenetrable.
Amy Leedham is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
"Amy and Sarajohn (Kerins) are two senior starters mixed in with two younger players with experience from last year that we have in the back," Princeton coach Greg Hand said. "They, as a group, and Samantha Doyle, our ‘keeper, have really started to work well together as a unit. A lot of the scoring in any games depends on how well the other team finishes. But we’re finding ways to make that more challenging for them."
And that has resulted in a nice win streak to open the season. Even after graduation losses left Princeton inexperienced in some spots, the Little Tigers have had no problem filling those holes.
"To the people who didn’t know this team it might be surprising," said Leedham, who plays her club soccer for the FC Magic United. "Melissa Gordon, who played sweeper for us last year, we called her the wall. She graduated, but (sophomore) Val Davison has come in and she’s been great.
"I think we can go very far. Last year we let some teams beat us that we shouldn’t have let beat us. I don’t think we’ll let that happen this year. I think we’re more focused this year on what we have to do."
Focus is something Leedham has always had on the soccer field. And to Hand, it’s just one of the many ways she contributes to the team’s success.
"Amy is a very intelligent player and a tenacious defender," said Hand, whose team will play four games in five days beginning today against Trenton. "She’s very humble, but she’s also a very vocal person when we’re training and when we’re playing games.
"She has a great sense of where to go on the field and we want to create opportunities for her to move forward when she can. She is very good at crossing the ball and she’s great with her feet."
And even as a defender, she’ll always be looking for a way to help the offense.
"She helps with the attacking every game," Hand said. "But we need her defensively because her judgment, speed and ability to mark players are so strong. For someone of small stature, she tackles very sure and hard. More importantly, she knows when to steer players in the right direction."
This year, she certainly has Princeton heading in the right direction.

