RUF AND READY: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Shelby Ruf, center, races through two defenders in action last season. Senior midfielder and Merrimack College commit Ruf figures to be a go-to finisher for PDS this season. The Panthers start their 2025 campaign by hosting Hightstown on April 3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

After saying goodbye to a stellar class of seniors from last year’s squad, the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team is welcoming a group of precocious freshmen to help fill that void.

“Losing that senior class, it feels like a part of the leadership is gone,” said PDS head coach Lucia Marcozzi, who guided the Panthers to a 15-6 record last spring, sparked by senior stars Tessa Caputo, Kelly Christie, Jesse Hollander, and Katie Zarish-Yasunas. “We have a lot of freshmen who are super talented. It has been great to have them start seeing how we do it at the varsity level and getting them mixed in a little bit. I think it is just finding those missing pieces on offense with some of the new freshmen coming in and getting their confidence up.”

A key piece to the puzzle for the Panthers this spring will be senior midfielder and Merrimack College commit Shelby Ruf, who tallied 38 goals and 12 assists in 2024.

“Last year we kind of moved Shelby all around; this year, she will definitely be our starting center midfielder,” said Marcozzi, whose team starts its 2025 campaign by hosting Hightstown on April 3. “She is a force on the field, she is so excited for her last season. Her energy is just awesome on the field, just being a senior leader with all of these younger guys jumping up. Last year gave her the confidence to see the field better and beyond just being a defender. She now has this great confidence to her, I think this is going to be her year by far.”

Joining Ruf in the midfield will be speedy senior Natalia Soffer (11 goals, 6 assists in 2024).

“Nat is going to be huge, she is so fast,” said Marcozzi. “She has so much ability, she is one of those kids you just can’t take out. That third spot in the midfield will probably go to one of our freshmen.”

On attack, sophomore Ava Fairbanks (20 goals, 8 assists) is poised for a breakout season.

“Ava Fairbanks had a great standout freshman year, she put in a ton of work in over the summer,” said Marcozzi. “Her shot really, really elevated this summer. I am looking to take her out from behind the net and put her more up top in a scoring position. I think she is going to be a huge asset for us. Going from freshman year to sophomore year, I think she definitely made the jump. She is going to be our leader down there on the attack.”

Junior Luci McKee (12 goals, 2 assists) brings savvy to the attack.

“Luci played great at the elbow spot,” said Marcozzi. “She is great at reading the defense and getting feeds on the inside. She is a good, tricky player, she blossomed a little bit last year in our offense the way we ran it. She did really well and I think this year she is going to take a little bit more of a leadership role as a junior.”

In goal, senior Grace Ulrich will be anchoring the defense. “Last year she was one save away from 100 saves on the season and she got sick,” said Marcozzi. “We didn’t have her for the Preps final game or our state run, that was unfortunate. She was crushing it and she is coming back with a vengeance. She wants to get that 100 saves, this is going to be a great season for her to prove herself again.”

PDS boasts a trio of seniors, Cass Salas, Eliza Bailey, and Charlotte Miller, to spearhead the defensive unit.

“Our defense is actually all returning seniors, Cass and Eliza are two returning starters that were go-to defenders last year,” said Marcozzi. “Everyone turns their head to them, making sure that they are the people we look to on defense. We have Charlotte coming back as another senior defender. Having three seniors in the backfield is so huge for us and four including Grace. The defense is just filled with senior leadership and senior voices which is awesome. I think our defense is going to be our best spot.”

If the squad’s corps of promising freshmen grows quickly, PDS could produce an awesome season.

“I think it is going to be on our attacking end, having the discipline to be consistently running our offense and staying focused on the team attack aspect,” said Marcozzi. “With the mix of upperclassmen stars coming back and a good amount of freshmen and underclassmen put in the mix, everyone has to know their role on attack to make the wheel go.”