RUF RIDER: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Shelby Ruf heads to goal last Friday against Peddie. Senior attacker and Merrimack College commit Ruf tallied two goals and one assist in the game as PDS prevailed 13-9. The Panthers, who defeated WW/P-South 11-4 last Monday in improving to 4-5, host Notre Dame on April 30 before playing at St. Elizabeth in a Prep B state quarterfinal contest on May 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Shelby Ruf wasn’t the go-to scorer for the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse last spring as a trio of senior stars led the way for the Panthers.

But with those three standouts, Tessa Caputo, Kelly Christie, and Jesse Hollander, having graduated, senior Ruf knew she had to take a leading role for the Panthers this spring.

“I think it is just setting an example for everybody,” said Ruf, a Merrimack College commit. “We have three freshmen on our attack so it is whatever I can do to be a role model for them and set them up. I want to score but anything I can do to get the win is really what we are focused on.”

Last Wednesday, Ruf set a very good example, tallying five goals and one assist as PDS pulled away to a 15-10 win over WW/P-North.

“I had my teammates connecting to me, just the support of everybody in this team is amazing,”said Ruf. “Once I get going, then everybody else gets going. It is like a chain.”

It took a while for the Panthers to get going against North as the teams were knotted at 1-1 late in the first quarter before PDS scored two goals in the last minute of the period.

“Momentum is huge is in lacrosse and for this team especially,” said Ruf. “I think we started a little slow but we were able to run it around right away. Once we got our momentum, it changed the entire game.”

After a shaky third quarter that saw the Northern Knights draw to within 12-10, PDS regained momentum as it scored three unanswered goals in the fourth.

“We let it slip away but we knew what we had to do,” said Ruf, who tallied a goal and an assist in the first four minutes of the final quarter. “We took a second after the third quarter to take a deep breath and realized we were able to win this game. We were winning the entire game so I think it was just turning around. Getting a draw control was huge for us.”

With the Panthers building on the win over North by topping Peddie 13-9 on Friday and then defeating WW/P-South 11-4 last Monday to improve to 4-5, Ruf believes PDS has turned the tide after a 0-4 start this spring.

“We always say that we wish we could get those first two games back because we are a very young team,” said Ruf. “We have so much potential, we just needed a couple of games under us. We have two wins now and Peddie is hopefully another one. That is going to be a huge momentum shift in our season.”

Excelling on attack is giving Ruf momentum as she looks forward to starting her Merrimack career.

“I am so excited for Merrimack, 100 percent this helps me,” said Ruf, who has scored a team-high 25 goals so far this season. “I was recruited as a defender but getting to play attack, I have the attack mindset and I can take that to defense next year. I could play anywhere next year. Also this is great conditioning, just getting as much lacrosse as I can under me.”

PDS head coach Lucia Marcozzi credits Ruf with making a great impact this spring.

“Shelby is our go-to player, she is our plus player,” said Marcozzi. “She is a great leader. People look to her, I look to her. She is just composed on the field. She is the ultimate competitor, she wants to compete every single time she is on the field. She is crushing it.”

The Panthers displayed some composure as they overcame the sluggish start against North to build a 9-4 halftime lead.

“That got us some momentum,” said Marcozzi of the two-goal outburst at the end of the first quarter.

“We have a great senior class and we are filling holes that we lost with the seniors last year and it takes time. We have great freshmen who are still learning to make their impact.”

One of those freshmen, Andrea Lenart, starred against the Northern Knights, tallying three goals and one assist.

“Andrea is fantastic, she makes a huge impact on the field,” said Marcozzi. “She knows lacrosse, she has a great lacrosse IQ. She is just getting up to that varsity level. I think once we get her there, it is going to be a total game changer.”

Another young player, sophomore Ava Fairbanks, has raised her game.

“From her freshmen year to her sophomore year, she made a huge jump in just discipline and knowing what to do with the ball,” said Marcozzi of Fairbanks who has a team-high 32 points on 19 goals and 13 assists. “Every time you have out, doesn’t mean you have to shoot. It is knowing how to use your teammates and I think she has made a really big leap in that sense.”

In the win over North, the PDS defense showed good discipline.

“We prepared a lot with our defense, knowing that they had an awesome player,” said Marcozzi. “That girl Ginny [Choi] is great so it was just preparing and knowing what she is going to do every time. We have two great senior leaders, Cass [Salas] and Eliza [Bailey], on defense. They are great at just controlling everyone and then we have Grace [Ulrich] in goal.”

With the Panthers hosting Notre Dame on April 30 before playing at St. Elizabeth in a Prep B state quarterfinal contest on May 6, Marcozzi is confident that her squad is headed in the right direction.

“This is the momentum that we needed, we just have to keep it rolling,” said Marcozzi. “Possession is key. We are young on our attacking end so we are really excited when we get the ball. We don’t always have the most disciplined decisions with possession in our end. The longer we have the ball, the longer the other team doesn’t. It is having that mindset the entire time.”

Ruf, for her part, is excited about what PDS can do down the stretch.

“I think it is just take it one game at a time and knowing what we have to do coming into every game and executing,” said Ruf. “That is what we are going to work on.”