Panther girls top Hun to reach Prep A final
By: Justin Feil
The Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team wasn’t satisfied with a one-goal win over The Hun School in the regular season.
The Panthers felt they could play better and showed how much better in a 22-11 victory over Hun in the Prep A state tournament semifinals Monday. With the win, the second-seeded Panthers will play at top-seeded Oak Knoll 4:15 p.m. Monday in a rematch of last year’s overtime final.
"We knew from last time (against Hun) we didn’t want to play that same way even though we still won by one," said Nina Crouse, who had seven goals and three assists Monday. "We just really came out to play and we never quit as a team. Everyone wanted this."
PDS followed up the win with an equally impressive 15-7 victory over Hopewell Valley on Tuesday in a possible preview of the Mercer County Tournament final. The Panthers are the top seed; Hopewell, which lost for just the third time in 16 games, is the No. 2.
"It’s all building up to where we want to go," said Crouse, who had seven goals Tuesday. "We want to be the top team. Having everyone come out to play, every single person, it wasn’t just all our top players. Everyone came out to play. That was our key."
The win over Hun was an eye-opener. The Panthers dashed out to leads of 5-1 and 10-2.
"We wanted to come out from the first 30 seconds," Crouse said. "It wasn’t the first five minutes that we wanted to come out and play. It was the first second. Our key was possession. When we have possession, the other team doesn’t so we have control of the game."
PDS was firmly in control before the Raiders scored three straight goals to cut the lead to 10-5 in the second half. That is where the comeback ended.
"We just had a different mindset from the start," said PDS head coach Jill Thomas, whose team was 14-0 heading into Thursday’s scheduled game against Princeton High School. "I think you saw a different confidence when we came out. We walked on the field today with a whole different attitude. And we just didn’t get rattled. A little here and there, but not really rattled.
"We turned it over 17 times in that (first) game. Not checks and all that, 17 times we turned it over. We knew that was huge. We knew they were going to come out. They’re a good team."
The Raiders weren’t helped defensively when they lost Liz Marino to a knee injury early in the game. Hun had no answer for Crouse, or for Keely Langdon and Hannah Epstein, who had four goals apiece. The Raiders could not rally from their early deficit.
"We kept it closer, we took more shots and we seemed to challenge more last time," said Hun head coach Lauren Provenzano. "We didn’t seem to challenge well today and I don’t know why. It was like a different game. I think PDS being on a roll, they might have gathered more strength after being undefeated. That might have had something to do with it."
The Raiders rebounded with a 24-19 win over Blair on Wednesday. With the win, they improved to 7-5 and moved past their loss to PDS. In the MCT first round Saturday, No. 5 Hun will host No. 12 West Windor-Plainsboro South.
"The girls, I’m proud of them, they stayed intense the whole time," Provenzano said. "It’s tough when you’re losing by so many to keep intense and keep your head in the game which they did. It shows a lot for the group we have."
The Panthers hope to stay unbeaten with a group that is looking to live up to its "unfinished business" motto Monday. Beating Hun was the next step toward their state championship goal.
"We got so psyched up from the beginning of the week," Crouse said. "We were building toward this game because this game leads us to the finals. Building up and building up that chemistry, our team bonding, building from the basics before the details is really what made us come out and play today."
Added Thomas: "They played a great game today. They played 50 minutes of good, solid, tough lacrosse, and smart."
The Panthers still think there’s another level of lacrosse out there. PDS is hoping to play at an even higher level when they get into the Prep A finals and MCT.
"I don’t think we’ve reached it yet," Thomas said. "I just don’t think we’re done yet and it’s still kind of cool we have two weeks left. They savor every moment now because it’s going so fast.
"All of them (do). I can’t tell you the leadership from Keely and Katie Briody, and then the other seniors, these kids just respect them and get the feeling. You get the feeling from them is what you get. You can feel it all happen because of them. That’s what you’re getting out of there."
The Panthers are playing with an unmatched confidence. For the seniors, there is the chance to go out on top. It’s something that Crouse is hoping for in her final scholastic season.
"Being a senior on this team is one of the best things ever because we’ve had such a great season so far," Crouse said. "Being able to talk to the younger players and building our experience in practice and skills together as a team is something that’s really powerful."
As for her own play, it has seemingly gotten better with every week. In her last four games, she has 28 goals, and has helped pick up for the loss of Briody to a knee injury. Crouse shrugs off her increased scoring punch.
"It’s all from good feeds from my teammates," she said. "If I keep getting those, it just keeps going, I hope.
"I’ve been building from each game, receiving those feeds from behind and getting that play started. Whenever I see that open spot, I just take it."
Time after time, Crouse found an opening and converted for the Panthers on Monday. And with that win, the Panthers have the chance to take on the same Oak Knoll team that escaped them last year in overtime.
"We’re going back," Thomas said. "We’re going to the dance. You hope as a player, you get to go. And today was to play for a chance to play for all the marbles. And now we have a chance to play for that."
The win over Hun was convincing. It showed focus and determination. Now the PDS girls’ lacrosse team will head into Monday’s Prep A final looking for a little more satisfaction, the kind that comes from a state title.