MAKING STRIDES: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Lena Wijaya, left, heads upfield in a game this spring. Wijaya produced a superb sophomore season this spring for PDS, tallying a team-high 37 points on 33 goals and four assists as the Panthers went 3-16. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

Although the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team didn’t get a lot of wins this spring, the program gained something more important.

While taking its lumps in going 3-16, PDS developed an upbeat vibe around the program.

“I think people underestimate how important chemistry is on the lacrosse field,” said PDS first-year head coach Hannah Lombardo.

“I feel like in high school, a lot of people say you just need one or two girls and you are set. It goes to show from the beginning of the season to the end, once we built that chemistry, despite our young roster, we really started to be more successful.”

While the Panthers ended the season with a 13-10 loss to South Brunswick on May 21, the squad displayed that chemistry in that performance.

“That was a really good representation of what

we had been working towards all year,” said Lombardo. “Despite the loss, I think they put everything together and left it all out there on both ends of the field throughout the whole game.”

Over the course of the season, the players worked on increasing their lax IQ.

“I made them watch a lot of film throughout the entire season on themselves and our opponents,” said Lombardo. “I think that really helped build that IQ because we would implement it into our practices. I think it really did help with that.”

The team’s senior group of Nica Martin, Jillian Flynn, Emma Burns, Kelly Stevens, Arden Reilly, Hartleigh Kragseth, and Zuri Graham helped things stay positive through the spring.

“I think they were all just really natural leaders, not only on the field but just off the field,” said Lombardo. “It is really hard when you have so many losses but they kept the camaraderie up. They had really positive attitudes and they also still held their teammates to a standard despite the record. The seniors played a huge role in just keeping the energy alive throughout the season and building a good foundation for the young girls. I think that they are bought into a team culture, just giving full effort, no matter what, and making that commitment to your program,”

The Class of 2026 is leaving a legacy that will help the younger players going forward.

“That was the thing for these young girls, the biggest thing that they needed was just some good leadership to just gain their confidence in general,” said Lombardo. “Players like Lena [Wijaya] and Sammy [Dandy] with the seniors that we had, it really helped them for the upcoming years to be able to lead and to perform at the same time. I think that really lays the ground for a successful team on the field.”

The one-two punch of rising junior Wijaya (33 goals, 4 assists in 2026) and rising senior Dandy (13 goals, 13 assists) led the way offensively this spring.

“They were productive even when we went against really competitive opponents,” said Lombardo. “Now they know what it feels like to play the hardest competition. That experience alone is going to give them so much of a leg up for next year. I think that was a really good confidence booster year for them as well just getting comfortable on the field together. I think their team chemistry on the attacking end really built this season so it is nothing but good things leading into the seasons to come for them.”

Rising junior Cora Schartman (17 goals, 1 assists) emerged as a very good player.

“I think she is going to be one of our biggest weapons next year,” said Lombardo. “The biggest thing with her is that she is so coachable. She goes wherever you need her to. She is a very scrappy player that works hard and is super aggressive. That really really helped her throughout the season. She really impressed me beyond measure, especially coming off on injury from last year.”

The pair of rising sophomore Mia Martin (3 goals) and rising junior Blair Russell (12 goals, 2 assists) made impressive progress.

“They are just growing into themselves and they are going to be more confident, that is the biggest thing with them,” said Lombardo. “Their athleticism is there. The biggest thing for them was building confidence on the field and from the beginning of the season to the end, I completely saw that with them.”

For Lombardo, a former Rowan University women’s lacrosse standout, taking the helm of the PDS program this season proved to be a positive experience.

“What made it so fun was how much they bought in to what I wanted for the program,” said Lombardo. “I really did my best to build an individual relationship with every one of the girls. The closeness that I felt with them really helped. It helped me gain confidence as a coach. They really were the best group of girls

that I could have had in my first year.”

The response of the players helped Lombardo gain a comfort level in her debut campaign.

“They are like the definition of trusting the process,” said Lombardo. “They always trusted me, they trusted what I had to say, they trusted the belief I had in them despite the losses. That was the biggest thing that helped me as a coach as well, knowing that they trusted me with my game plan. They really kept believing that this is building for next year and years

to come.”

Lombardo believes that the future is bright for the Panthers. “I honestly could not be more excited; I think next year is going to be just building off of what we built this year, it is going to be even better,” said Lombardo. “We have a lot of good returners coming back. They have a whole year under their belt of varsity. I have no doubt that we will be stronger than we were this year.”