By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The names continue to change, but the results remain the same for the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer program.
The Panthers played Montclair Kimberley Academy to a scoreless draw on Wednesday in the state Prep B championship game in Montclair.
The 0-0 result made the two teams co-champions for the second straight year, while giving the Panthers their fourth straight year with at least a share of the state Prep B title.
“It was two good programs that are fairly evenly matched,” PDS coach Pat Trombetta said. “It was a nice battle. I try to tell the girls it is not uncommon to not feel totally satisfied with a co-championship. This year was different because we were the underdogs as the No. 2 seed. They were the top seed and they won their county championship. They have a very good team.”
The two teams played to a scoreless tie in last year’s Prep B final. That game was halted in the second half due to poor weather and the teams were declared co-champions. This time around they played 100 minutes of soccer without a goal.
Sophomore Riley Felsher of PDS finished with eight saves to record the shutout in goal. Felsher stepped in as the starter this year and helped the Panthers finish the season with 11 shutouts.
“Here is a goalie who wasn’t expected to play and she really rose to the occasion in some of the big games,” said Trombetta, whose team finished the season with a 12-6-1 record. “She had a fantastic game against Steinert in the Mercer County Tournament and she was fantastic today.”
Princeton Day fell to Steinert in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.
The Prep B title was the sixth in 10 years for the Panthers, who also won in 2008 and 2010. They also added a Mercer County title in 2013 to their impressive run. PDS will graduate a pair of key four-year contributors in Madison Coyne and Rebecca Kuzmicz,
“I can’t say enough about Madison and Rebecca,” Trombetta said. “They are our two seniors and captains and you could tell it was their last game by the way they played. I was so proud of the whole team with the way they played, especially this year. The young players worked hard and overall we put a lot of different bodies on the field and they all contributed.”
So for the Panthers, the players on the field keep changing but the championships keep coming.
“We have been very fortunate with the level of talent that has been in our program,” Trombetta said. “The program is improving and I consider us one of the top programs in the county. With the states it us up for grabs each year. There are a lot of good teams. We have seen some good teams come through and we have been fortunate in the tournaments.”
