HART AND SOUL: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer player Juliana Hartman boots the ball upfield last Wednesday as top-seeded PDS defeated fifth-seeded Lawrence High 6-2 in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) semis last Wednesday. On Saturday, senior midfielder Hartman scored the lone goal as PDS edged second-seeded Allentown 1-0 in the CVC final. The Panthers, now 18-0-1, will be competing in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B Tournament where they are seeded second and will host a quarterfinal contest on November 6 with the victor advancing to the semifinal round on November 10. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Juliana Hartman knows what it’s like to score a big goal in a championship game for the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team.
In the 2023 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public A Group Tournament final, Hartman found the back of the net as PDS topped Mount St. Dominic 2-0 to win the state title.
Last Saturday as the top-seeded Panthers faced second-seeded Allentown in the CVC tournament final at Hopewell Valley, Hartman struck again.
With the foes knotted in a scoreless tie in the second half, senior midfielder Hartman took a corner kick from Sophia Vriesendorp and blasted the ball into the top corner.
“I saw a clear vision and just hit that right in the upper left hand corner and I was like that’s it,” said Hartman. “It felt like the states all over again.”
Hartman’s goal proved to be the difference as Panthers held off the Redbirds to prevail 1-0 and earn their first CVC title in tournament’s current format.
Down the stretch, the Panthers tightened things up at the defensive end to thwart a feisty Allentown squad.
“We just had to focus on getting information,” said Hartman. “It is all about communication. One thing happens and you have to go to the next one.”
The Panthers were not in good form in the first half as the Redbirds had them on their heels.
“We were talking about how we just have to play our game; we can’t let them disrupt how we play,” said Hartman. “We play feet, next pass, and positive. We talk nice to each other. You can’t let them get into your head. With our team, we like to figure out challenges.”
PDS has proved to be up to every challenge this fall as it improved to 18-0-1 with the win over Allentown.
“We constantly just work through it, we never give up because that is not us,” said Hartman. “We play for each other, that is our motive.”
With the Panther program having last earned a county title when it won the Mercer County Tournament in 2013, the triumph on Saturday was special.
“We just made history, we haven’t won a title for the MCT or CVCs in a while,” said Hartman. “I think we deserved it this season.”
The squad has made a lot of progress from last year’s disappointing season when PDS went 8-9-1.
“It is definitely a lot of the same players but we know we are a different team,” said Hartman. “We want to go and show that to everyone.”
Hartman and her fellow seniors have been determined to go out with a bang in their final campaign.
“We have the strongest bond, there are 11 of us,” said Hartman. “We have been through all of it, freshman year, states. We had a not so good last year and now we are coming back again.”
Over her career, Hartman has come on strong. “I think over the four years, I have definitely become more confident in myself,” said Hartman, who has tallied seven goals and three assists this year and now has 20 goals and 10 assists in her PDS career. “But it is also putting more trust in my teammates because it is a team thing, not just an individual.”
PDS head coach Chris Pettit saw that trust as a key factor in helping the squad overcome a spotty first half performance.
“The fact is that we probably played our worst half and you have to give Allentown credit, they were all over us but we really didn’t play very well at all,” sad Pettit. “We changed our formation and we have to play more to our style. We moved to a 4-1-4-1 because they were overrunning us in midfield. We couldn’t find a pass, we couldn’t get a way out. That was a key element to it.”
The Panthers also changed their mentality heading into the second half.
“The other key element was in the first half they wanted it more than us,” says Pettit. “They were all over us, they were first to every first, second and third ball and we were reacting. We were kind of hanging on. We were a bit stunned at halftime. It was hey let’s calm down. We didn’t play great but the second half hasn’t started yet. If we come around and play our game and win the second half in a week’s time, in a year’s time, you are never going to remember how we played in the first half.”
Hartman’s goal reflected the team’s high-level game. “It was one of those where it was a great ball in by Soph and as soon as you saw it leave Jules’ foot, you knew it was a goal,” said Pettit. “It was a great strike. We have put a lot of work on corners this year and it has paid dividends. It is one of those where every different game somebody different has stepped up.”
At the defensive end, the squad’s back line and sophomore goalie Mae Braswell (8 saves) stood tall.
“The defensive line has been really, really good and we have a good mix of size and strength but collectively they are really, really good,” said Pettit. “We restricted them to long shots, free kicks and corners. You can’t take away everything. I thought we did really well. Mae made one great save from that long shot, everything she did was very solid.”
Winning the CVC tourney means a lot to Pettit and his players.
“This is the first in this format the first time they have won it,” said Pettit. “It is huge, it is always nice to get that first one. This group will always be known as the first group to get it done, that is huge to them.”
In looking to bounce back from the frustrating 2024 campaign, PDS focused on developing a positive team chemistry
“It has really been the collective, last season we didn’t have that collective,” said Pettit. “We spoke about it, we have worked at it. When we won the states a couple of years ago, it was the same thing. We lost our way last year and that is on me. We really focused on bringing that back, (assistant coaches) Kelly [Severini] and Kira [Dudeck] have been huge with bringing that back and the girls have bought into it. Today was the power of the collective. I don’t think there was one player who had a phenomenal game but we had a lot of people who did very, very well.”
As PDS starts action in the the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B Tournament this week, Pettit believes the team can follow in the footsteps of the 2023 champion team.
“This team has done better in the CVC than that team did so there is no reason why we can’t,” said Pettit, whose team is seeded second and will host a quarterfinal contest on November 6 with the victor advancing to the semifinal round on November 10. “This team has found a way, every single game, every single day.”
In Hartman’s view, the Panthers are primed to earn another title.
“If we stay with the same mindset and play for each other and do our own style of play, we will be good,” said Hartman.