Panthers top Lawrenceville before falling in Prep A final
By: Justin Feil
Jill Thomas turned to the lyrics of Garth Brooks when reflecting on the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team’s 11-9 overtime loss to Oak Knoll in the Prep A final Sunday.
Brooks’ last line to ‘The Dance’ is: "I could have missed the pain but I’d of had to miss the dance."
The Panthers endured some pain with Sunday’s overtime loss, thought not enough to detract from a brilliant season. PDS led, 6-4, at halftime and 7-4 minutes into the second half only to see the No. 5 ranked team in laxpower.com rally to eventually send the game into overtime at 9-9 with 2:44 left in regulation. PDS outshot Oak Knoll in overtime, but could not score.
"We’ll get over the pain," said Thomas, whose team finishes 15-3. "The dance has been incredible.
"For somebody from this area go to play this powerhouse. We were right there. All along, we knew we should be there. We deserved to be there. When you’re on equal ground to start, our kids came out and said, we can do this."
PDS came into the final still riding the momentum of Thursday’s resounding 21-15 upset of second-seeded Lawrenceville in the state semifinals. Against the Big Red, Katie Briody scored five of her eight goals in the second half for the second-seeded Panthers. Despite that incredible showing and just a pair of one-goal losses on their record, few would have given the Panthers a chance going into Sunday’s final.
"Even Oak Knoll, when they were on the field for warmup, they were thinking that," Thomas said. "But they’re not 18-1 for nothing."
And there is nothing to be sorry about in PDS’ lusty 15-3 record. The Panthers have been building over the last couple of years. Two years ago, they were 3-7 and lost, 13-1, to Oak Knoll to end their season. Last year, they improved to 12-5, but still fell short of the Prep A title game. Then came this season, which culminated with a win over Lawrenceville in the schools’ only meeting and a trip to the championship.
"We played Lawrenceville and we played and we won," Thomas recalled. "We went on the road and beat a team we hadn’t beaten in 10 years. It was beautiful.
"We finished 15-3. Purnell forfeited to us. That’s not a shabby record. Our losses are by one, one and two (goals) and the two comes in overtime. There’s a tremendous amount to be proud of. We can look at Thursday and say, ‘Wow!’ That’s a high no one can take away from us"
Sunday’s championship game marked the final game for five seniors. The task for next year’s Panthers is to follow and build on the standard they set.
"We’ve got a program," Thomas said. "We were 12-5 last year. This year, we had two freshmen and three sophomores on the field. They’re not going anywhere, and we are.
"My hats go off to the seniors. They have been a part of something that has been really, really special. That’s what memories are made of. They have memories that will last a lifetime. To come as far as they’ve come over the last couple years, they have everything to be proud of. They’ll tuck this one in the back of their minds. We have a saying, remember that feeling. They won’t forget the feeling of Thursday. They’ll remember today and we’ll be back."
The Panthers will return Briody, among others. She had four goals to lead PDS on Sunday. Keely Langdon and Allie Crouse had two goals apiece and Leah Lefebvre made 12 saves. Together the Panthers made Oak Knoll come out with its best all the way to the end and fight for the Prep A state title.
"Like there was no tomorrow," Thomas said.
There is, and with it comes another chance, and potentially another dance, for the PDS girls’ lacrosse team.
"It was quite a run," Thomas said. "I wouldn’t change that."