PLAYING WITH HEART: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer player Juliana Hartman, left, goes after the ball in a 2024 game. Senior midfielder Hartman, who tallied three goals and four assists last season, should be a catalyst for the Panthers against this season. The Panthers kick off their 2025 season by playing at the Hun School on September 5. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
As the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team gears up for this fall, it is determined to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 campaign.
Coming off winning the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public A state title in 2023 and going 17-2-3, PDS struggled to an 8-9-1 record last fall.
“We didn’t live up to our potential last year, there is an element of getting back on track,” said PDS head coach Chris Pettit, whose team kicks off its 2025 season by playing at the Hun School on September 5. “There is a feeling of less pressure. The previous year we were coming in with a target on our backs and with maybe to a certain degree an unrealistic set of expectations. This year that has been taken away because we struggled last year. There is a bit more a lightness around the team which is nice. It feels quite positive.”
Pettit is expecting big things at forward from the trio of junior junior Ava Katz (3 goals, 3 assists in 2024), senior Mackenzie Brodel (7 goals, 3 assists), and senior Nica Martin (7 goals, 4 assists).
“Ava would be one who we are hoping to really play a bit more as a forward and bring us some goals and assists for us,” said Pettit. “Nica will continue to pick up where she left off last year and hopefully improve on that. She is a great kid and works her socks off. She is a very intelligent player on and off the field that really helps knit things together. Mac is looking good. She is a tricky little winger who chips in with goals. I hope that she will never getting a decent number of assists as well from that position.”
The Panthers will also look for a pair of midfielders, senior Juliana Hartman (3 goals, 4 assists) and junior Sophia Vriesendorp (3 goals, 5 assists) to add some scoring production.
“When we have had success in the previous years, we don’t tend to rely on any one player, we need the goals from seven or eight people,” said Pettit. “It needs to be AK, it needs to be Mac, it needs to be Nica. it needs to be Jules [Hartman] and Sophia [Vriesendorp]. We really need all of those guys chipping in with goals because that is how we play.”
In addition to Hartman and Vriesendorp, the Panther midfield will feature sophomore Eva Najarro and senior Lucia McKee.
“Jules and Sophia will be two of the main ones and then there will be a couple of others,” said Pettit. “Eva was injured in the second game last year so the hope would be that she can come in and stay fit this time around and play some of those minutes. Lucy developed as the season went on. The hope is that they will be able to come in and support as well.”
Senior midfielder/defender Ava “AJ” Szalabofka (4 goals) will provide support at both ends of the field with her two-way play.
“AJ has been phenomenal for us the last two years, she is a shutdown defender in the wide areas,” said Pettit. “She always plays against the best wide player and she will do that as well this season I have no doubt. An area that we struggled a little bit in last year was getting the balance of the wide players in attacking areas. We have been looking at AJ to play a bigger role up there as well. That doesn’t mean that she isn’t going to play further back at times but when we need to swap a little bit something going forward, she can do that.”
On defense, senior Ella McLaren (1 goal, 1 assist) and senior Emma Burns (2 assists) will lead the way.
“Ella will be a defender,” said Pettit, noting that she is currently sidelined due to injury. “Emma has been ever present; she is just so calm and collected. Her IQ is very, very good. She is the quiet leader back there and gives us real consistency.”
The quartet of senior Zuri Graham, sophomore Christina Sarvis, freshman Evie Song, and freshman Jess Dieng will also see time along the back line.
“Zuri will give us some minutes out there and then some of the others will have to step up,” said Pettit. “Christina played last year, she came in and did well. There is a few other kids who are going to have to fill in. Evie is a freshman coming in; he is pretty small kid but very talented with a good IQ. I think she will contribute. Jess is another talented freshman who I think has the size and speed to deal with high school soccer. You are never quite sure how that is all going to work but we have a few options there.”
At goalie, sophomore Mae Braswell (29 saves in 2024) is stepping into the shoes of graduated star Shelby Ruf.
“Mae is back, she will be the goalkeeper,” said Pettit. “She has looked pretty sharp but she also has a good, outgoing personality. I think that really helps goalkeepers. She is very comfortable with the ball at her feet so that gives us a bit more of a dynamic that way as well. She played some minutes, she got exposure. That was deliberate because we knew that Shelby wasn’t going to be here this year. I feel pretty confident that Mae is ready to step into those shoes.”
Pettit is hoping that the Panthers will display a better comfort level with each other this year.
“The key to get back on track is having everybody buying in so we are all pulling in the same direction and we can get our mentality right,” said Pettit. “That includes myself and the coaching staff to make sure that we are leading by example and that we are holding ourselves and the players accountable. That is something that is important.”
Developing balance at both ends of the field will be key as PDS looks to regain its championship form.
“It is the power of the collective,” added Pettit. “When we have had solid defensive seasons, it wasn’t just because of one or two players, it was a defensive unit. And with the goals, when we have been successful, we have had five or six players chipping in with a number of goals. We need that again this year.”