SOUNDING OFF: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse head coach Sam Kosoff, center, makes a point to his players in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, sixth-seeded PDS edged third-seeded Allentown 5-3 in the quarterfinal round of the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament. The Panthers, who moved to 6-7 with a 10-5 loss to Montclair Kimberley Academy in the Prep Tournament semis last Monday, were slated to face second-seeded Notre Dame in the CVC semis on May 13 with the victor advancing to the final on May 15 at Hopewell Valley. In addition, the Panthers will be hosting Northern Burlington on May 16 in a regular season contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Wyatt Ewanchyna was fired up to hit the field for the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team as it hosted WW/P-North last Thursday in the opening round of the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament.
“All of these kids are hockey kids and we have already been through a heartbreaker this year,” said senior defender Ewanchyna, referring to a 2-1 overtime loss to Don Bosco this winter in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public quarterfinal round. “We were really pumped to get into another tournament together.”
With Ewanchyna spearheading a stifling defense, the sixth-seeded Panthers held 11th-seeded WW/P-North scoreless for the first 32 minutes of the contest on the way to a 14-3 triumph.
“Our defense has really been solid, we have a lot of juniors and seniors who have been together for a while,” said Ewanchyna. “Everybody has each other’s backs. It is solid.”
As one of the squad’s most battle-tested players, Ewanchyna has shouldered more responsibility this spring.
“I try to be a leader as much as I can,” said Ewanchyna. “I think we are all leaders in our own ways. Every single part of the defense is key.”
In the win over North, Ewanchyna, who was the top scorer for the PDS boys’ hockey team, got into the offense for the Panthers as he scored a fourth quarter goal.
“It is like in hockey, you screen the goalie and get in front,” said Ewanchyna. “I will take it, you don’t get many of those.”
Facing an Allentown team in the CVC quarters who had edged PDS 8-7 in overtime in a regular season contest, the Panthers built on the win over North as they edged the third-seeded Redbirds 5-3 last Saturday.
“We needed a little momentum going into Allentown,” said Ewanchyna. “We had an upsetting loss against them. We know we can play with anybody but we have to be at our best and dialed in. We have to take care of the ball. I feel like we are always reliable on defense. We can always take it a step up. We gave up eight goals last time, we can get that down to four or five.”
While PDS lost 10-5 to Montclair Kimberley Academy in the Prep Tournament semis last Monday to move to 6-7, Ewanchyna and his teammates are enjoying the postseason grind.
“We are rolling into that, we are used to that from hockey season, it is non-stop,” said Ewanchyna of the Panthers, who were slated to face second-seeded Notre Dame in the CVC semis on May 13 with the victor advancing to the final on May 15 at Hopewell Valley. “We just can’t wait to keep playing. I think everyone is having a blast.”
While Ewanchyna is planning to focus on hockey after graduation as he is looking to play juniors, he is open to the option of also playing lacrosse at the next level.
“I love hockey, so we will see with I can do with it,” said Ewanchyna. “If I can bring lacrosse with it that would be great. One of my things is that I want to play both sports in college. I am not sure what I am going to do. I think it will be fun no matter what I do.”
PDS head coach Sam Kosoff loved the way his team took care of business against North. “It feels great, it is a great spring day,” said Kosoff. “You can’t ask for better conditions and a great field. It was fun to come out here, run around, and get a win.”
Kosoff had a lot of fun watching the Panther defense stymie the Northern Knights.
“We have really been focused on defense,” said Kosoff. “We are trying to do a better job on offense, trying to create better possessions and more motion. Because we haven’t, our defense has gotten a lot of work. They are doing a good job, we have implemented a couple of different looks and they have responded really well. We rely heavily on those guys.”
The Panthers rely heavily on Ewanchyna to spearhead that unit.
“He is just a gamer,” said Kosoff of Ewanchyna. “His hockey skills come into play, he can goose balls to himself.”
At the other end of the field, senior Hart Nowakoski and the Lewis brothers, senior Asher and sophomore Landon, triggered the offense.
Nowakoski tallied six goals and five assists while Asher Lewis chipped in one goal and two assists and went 14-of-14 on face-offs and Landon Lewis contributed five goals and one assist.
“Hart played well today,” said Kosoff. “Lucky for him, Asher at the X two times just immediately fed him. Asher is a little nicked up, kudos to him. Landon has developed well, he is good around the cage. He had some good head fakes and he gets goal side.”
Kosoff had a good feeling going into the CVS rematch with Allentown.
“I hope we can right the ship on that one,” said Kosoff. “We need to finish, we need to play a full game. We have struggled with that. I said to them you learn the most when the struggle is real, not when it is easy. We are excited to head into the stretch here and do our best.”
Ewanchyna, for his part, is looking to make the most of his final stretch with PDS.
“I am with all of my friends I have known for years, some of them I have known since I was in pre-K,” said Ewanchyna. “We have played lacrosse together forever. We don’t waste a second out here.”