ON POINT: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Elon Tuckman looks for an opening in a game last season. On Monday, sophomore attackman Tuckman tallied three goals and four assists as PDS defeated Pennington 19-6 in its season opener. The Panthers host Lawrenceville on April 7 and Hun on April 11. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Rich D’Andrea has developed a special bond with this year’s group of seniors on the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team.

“I think in my first year here, these guys were in the 8th grade,” said D’Andrea of the senior group which features Connor Fletcher, Jonah Tuckman, Amir Melvin, James Fragale, Joey Levine, Chris Chai, Noam Yakoby, and Aiden Jones

“It has been neat to see the arc of their careers. They are a great group of kids. We have four kids going on to play college lacrosse next year (Fletcher at Cornell, Tuckman at Vassar, Melvin at Goucher, Fragale at RPI). They are giving us great leadership, something that we can see making its way through to the underclassmen.”

With PDS hosting powerhouses Germantown Academy (Pa.) on April 5, Lawrenceville on April 7, and Hun on April 11, that senior leadership will come in handy.

“We lead in with three of the toughest teams,” said D’Andrea, whose squad started the season with a 19-6 win over Pennington last Monday.

“It is a great measuring stick for us. They are local programs, these guys have buddies at all of these schools. We have been waiting to get these guys on the schedule and it is a great opportunity.”

PDS boasts a great tandem in midfield with senior stars and four-year starters Fletcher and Jonah Tuckman.

“Connor is just a presence; he dodges, he shoots the ball well,” said D’Andrea.

“He is just one of those kids when you saw him as a freshman in high school you knew that he had the frame for it and he has just worked to put the pieces together. I have been around the sport for a pretty long time and Connor is one of the most talented kids I have ever come across. Jonah is a kid that through the years here has done everything for us, he has faced off, he has played man up, man down, and he has been a two-way middie. He scored a ton of goals last year and had a bunch of assists. Between him and Connor running mid right now, that is a pretty powerful 1-2 punch.”

D’Andrea likes the depth he has in the midfield with juniors Will Brossman and Nick Day along with promising sophomores Jack Konopka and Justin Herrup.

“Will Brossman had 25 goals, 23 assists last year, he is a really talented kid, really balanced kid,” said D’Andrea.

“Having him running in tandem with those two other guys. I think Will is on par to have a breakout year. Nick Day is a kid who faced off a bunch for us last year and he will be running some offensive middie for us as well. He has done a nice job in preseason. We have two younger kids, Jack Konopka and Justin Herrup, that have both worked hard in the offseason. They are growing into their bodies right now.”

The pair of Levine and sophomore Elon Tuckman could grow into a force on attack.

“Joey is a guy who has really developed; he has been a kid who has always done what is best for the program,” said D’Andrea, who will also be using juniors Ty Birch and Peter Shannon along with freshman Coby Auslander on attack.

“Last year he ran middie and attack for us and this year he and Elon Tuckman are really handling that attack pretty well. They are pretty balanced between the two of them. Elon broke the single season points record for a freshman last year, he had 26 goals and 14 assists. We are looking for him to continue to produce and be balanced. He will be a guy we go to pretty frequently this year.”

On defense, the Panthers feature a nice balance of experience and talent with seniors Melvin and Fragale together with juniors Jack Amaral and Coby Gibson, sophomore Brooks Johnson, and freshman Sam Bernardi. “Melvin and Fragale have both been 4-year varsity guys for us; we have more depth defensively than any other year I have been here,” said D’Andrea.

“Jack Amaral played middie for us last year and switched to playing close defense. He is a big, physical kid, communicates well. He has got a great stick and can push it in transition. We have Brooks Johnson who is a longstick middie, he is a real tall lean kid and has one of the best sticks on the team. Coby Gibson is a returning guy, he had some great ground balls for us. He is one of those kids that you can’t move around, he is very strong. Sam Bernardi is a freshman and is a talented kid. He is physical and scrappy; he is working on his stick right now. He is going to one of those kids who is going to go on and do some special things for us in the long term.”

PDS will using freshman Connor Green and senior Chai, a converted midfielder, in goal.

“Connor is a big kid, a lefty who fills up the cage really well,” said D’Andrea, a star goalie at Peddie and Georgetown in his playing days.

“He has phenomenal hands and he outlets well. He is going to be a very talented goalie. He has been around the game for a pretty long time and we have compete confidence in the kid. Chris has a natural ability for the position; he really understand where he is supposed to be positionally. He understands the technical aspects of it. Seniors have a poise and a calmness and I think that Chris definitely brings that to the defense. Those guys have been working really really hard together and I would imagine that both of those guys will see time this year as we go here.”

D’Andrea believes his squad has what it takes to go far this spring.

“These guys are one of the hardest working teams that I have been around,” asserted D’Andrea.

“They push each other, they have built something special here and they understand that. I think staying humble, staying grounded, and understanding the task at hand, those are all going to be the keys to this thing. We are approaching this thing one game at a time here. Our job is to go learn, adjust, and peak at the right time down the stretch.”