ON THE RISE: Princeton Day School boys’ soccer players Aiden Luciano, left, and Enrico Acunto rise up together to control the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Thursday, second-seeded PDS fell 4-0 to top-seeded Ranney School in the (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B final to end the fall with a 9-13 record. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

Losing nine seniors to graduation from his 2024 squad, Gary Roberts saw this fall as a likely rebuilding season for the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team.

But catching fire down the stretch, PDS made a second straight trip to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B final and ended the fall with a 9-13 record.

“People would ask me and I would say that I think we are going to take one step back in 2025 to take two or three steps forward next year,” said Panther head coach Roberts. “The good news is that we don’t take any steps back, we ended up in the sectional final with a better record.”

In order to get the sectional final, PDS prevailed in a defensive battle it edged 11th-seeded Moorestown Friends 1-0 last week.

“We were fairly dominant, they had shots but stuff that was going wide, they were harmless shots,” said Roberts. “The whole back six played well. The game got stretched towards the end a little bit when they started lofting long balls and we got even more chances. We were lucky that we just had a little more quality than them.”

Last Thursday in the sectional final, the Panthers ran into a quality side as they fell 4-0 to top-seeded Ranney School to end the fall with a 9-13 record.

“We just wanted to play, we thought we could play with them and we did,” said Roberts. “Were they slightly the better team, yes, but it wasn’t one-way traffic at all. We had chances, they had chances. We were into the wind in the first half which was very, very strong. We were down 1-0 at halftime and I was thrilled. I was just trying to get us to halftime.”

In the second half, PDS generated some traffic around goal but couldn’t break through as Ranney pulled away.

“They made a couple of good saves and they got us in a counter attack as we were pressing numbers forward as the game went on,” said Roberts. “We had chances, we had great set pieces and we had plenty of chances. The run of play was like 53-47. The Ranney goalie was solid.”

Roberts was glad that senior defender and co-captain Aiden Luciano was able to end his career in a title game.

“In the whole state playoff run, I would bring Aiden next to me and I would talk about how selfless he is, what a good captain he has been, and what a wonderful person he is and that his career does not deserve to end until the final game,” said Roberts. “That is what my message was and everybody bought into that. He is not a superstar player, he is a lunch pail player.”

Looking ahead, Roberts is confident that his core of returning players can grow into something special.

“We just weren’t totally mature yet, emotionally and physically,” said Roberts. “For 14- or 15-year-old boys to play against 17- and 18-year old boys, that is a big difference. As our freshmen and sophomores become sophomores and juniors, they will be two or three inches taller and 15 or 20 points heavier.”

The trio of freshman Nate Mogaka, sophomore Mathias Ramos, and sophomore Chase Weisel made a difference this fall.

“Nate had a great season, I would say he got mentally tired during the season but that three days off before the tournament really helped him,” said Roberts. “He was very, very good in the state playoffs. I think he is a budding CVC star. That kid can play. He has got moxie, he has a natural productive cockiness. Ramos had his moments. I would say Chase for the last 10 games was the biggest surprise. He showed the greatest level of improvement. and worked his butt off.”

The team’s top scorer, junior Keegan Fullman, provided high-level play this fall. “He is a man playing with boys,” said Roberts. “Keegan needs service, he needs to get the ball to be dangerous.”

Fullman developed a connection with Mogaka that could propel the Panthers to a big season next fall.

“The way we are playing with those two, we have definitely formed a relationship,” said Roberts. “Next year I expect Nate to be loaded with assists and Keegan to be loaded with goals on the other end.”