KEY PERFORMER: Princeton High girls’ soccer player Alysse Kiesewetter, right, marks a foe in a game this fall. Junior defender/midfielder Kiesewetter starred at both ends of the field for PHS as it went 8-8-2 this fall. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Although the Princeton High girls’ soccer team ended its season by losing 2-0 to Manalapan in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional tournament, Dave Kosa believed the score didn’t reflect how his squad battled.

“We played really well, a couple of things didn’t go our way,” said PHS head coach Kosa, reflecting on the effort he got from 11th-seeded PHS as it battled a sixth-seeded Manalapan squad that ended up advancing to the sectional final. “We had a goal called back on an offsides on a direct kick which you don’t normally see. On the second goal, the ball went out on the touchline, we thought it was ours. They scored on a corner. You take those two things and maybe it is 1-1 instead of 2-0. What we take out of it is that when we are playing our best, we can hang with the best teams.”

PHS didn’t play its best down the stretch as it lost six straight games to finish the fall with an 8-8-2 record, struggling to find the back of the net.

“We had a lot of injuries, we have five, six girls on the sidelines, that hurts,” said Kosa. “Throughout the season, even when were 8-2-2, we weren’t scoring a lot. We would win 2-1, 1-0.”

Kosa was proud of how his players stuck with things as they dealt with adversity. more

JACK SHOW: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Jack Serxner boots the ball in a game this fall. Senior defender Serxner starred for PHS as it went 8-8-1 this season. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Getting off to a 7-1 start this fall, the Princeton High boys’ soccer team appeared to be on the way to another banner season.

But getting hit with a rash of injuries and plagued by a lack of scoring punch, PHS limped home to finish with an 8-8-1 record, falling 3-0 to Howell in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional in its season finale.

Despite the late season slump, PHS head coach Wayne Sutcliffe enjoyed the ride this fall.

“It is a young team; Ryan (assistant coach Ryan Walsh) and I had the most rewarding experience working with them every day with their quality, their perseverance, and their honesty,” said Sutcliffe. “They are all good players, they are just a little young. It was a great season, you are dealt these things.”

Unfortunately, dealing with injuries became a theme of the 2022 campaign.

“We had a plethora of injuries; at one point late in the season, we had four starters injured and those four guys were perhaps the most experienced players,” said Sutcliffe, who lost his top returning scorer Richard Wegmann to injury before the season even started and saw such stars as Felipe Matar Grandi, Nick Matese, and Emanuel Noyola sidelined by knocks at times this fall. more

IN TOUCH: Princeton Day School boys’ soccer player Todd Devin dribbles the ball in a game this fall. Sophomore Devin was a standout this fall for PDS as it went 3-11-4 and advanced to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B South Jersey quarterfinals. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team fell behind 3-0 at St. Rose in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B South Jersey quarterfinals earlier this month, it would have been understandable if it threw in the towel.

Instead, PDS scored three straight goals to make it a 3-3 game late in the second half.

While the Panthers ended up losing 4-3, PDS head coach Brian Thomsen was proud of the way his squad battled to the final whistle.

“The boys have always had fight,” said Thomsen, who got goals from Raag Desikan, Yaseen Mousa, and Aaron Herscovici in the loss as his team ended the fall with a 3-11-4 record. “They have been very unlucky with the outcomes.”

Despite the paucity of wins as it played a challenging schedule, the PDS players didn’t get discouraged.

“If you look at who we played against, we had one of the tougher schedules in the area,” said Thomsen. “I am not very happy about the record itself. But from a culture standpoint and everything, when you see the boys with the record that they have, you would think that they would stop caring about coming to practice and the practices would get worse and worse. The boys actually didn’t want it to end; it was pretty close in that last game, we almost did it.” more

GETTING HER KICKS: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer player Adriana Salzano kicks the ball in recent action. Junior star Salzano scored a team-high 12 goals this fall to spark the PDS attack. The Panthers posted a final record of 12-7, advancing to the Prep B state semifinal and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public A quarters. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Chris Pettit, this fall ended up being the “nearly” season for his Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team.

Competing in three postseason tournaments, PDS showed flashes of brilliance but fell short of playing for a title, advancing to the Prep B state semis, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public A quarters, and losing on a late goal in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.

While Panther head coach Pettit, whose team ended up with a 12-7 record, would have liked to see his young squad play for a championship, he saw plenty of progress.

“There were a lot of positives,” asserted Pettit. “Shelby [Ruf] did great in goal, we tightened it up defensively and we gave a lot of minutes to our freshmen. We improved in certain areas that we worked on. We didn’t really give up many goals from corners and we scored a lot of corners. Things like that were positives.”

In a 3-2 overtime loss to Rutgers Prep in Prep B semis, PDS produced one of its best efforts of the fall.

“We were winning 2-1 for a good portion of the second half and they scored with the last kick of the game,” said Pettit, who got two goals from junior star Adriana Salzano in the defeat. “We ran out of steam a little bit and we were hanging on for the last few minutes of extra time with a couple of minutes away from it going to penalties, and they scored again. On the bus going there and from the moment we started warming up, you could see the girls were laser-focused. They really embraced that underdog mentality. We talked a couple of weeks after that game and talked about how do we bring that every weekend. It was a good game.” more

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR: Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science (PRISMS) boys’ soccer player Oliver Gao shows his form in a game this fall. Senior Gao helped lead the way as the PRISMS squad went 2-3-2 under new head coach Jay James May. (Photo provided courtesy of PRISMS)

By Bill Alden

Growing up in soccer-mad England, Jay James May fell in love with the game at an early age.

“We all play, it is like a religion with the approach to it and how you feel about it,” said May. “Every time you have a break you are out playing football. You are on the field as much as you can. I played a lot as a teenager.”

In his 20s, May devoted his energy to academics, matriculating to the University of Sussex, where he was awarded a trio of prizes, including highest-ranked student in its School of English. He later earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of York. May then got into education, teaching worldwide, beginning in his native England before teaching in Spain and China for 10 years.

During his five-year stint teaching in China, May made his debut coaching soccer.

“China is where I really started coaching because they had a gap for it at the school,” said May. “I coached our house team, the schools are divided into houses and you get a quarter of the population.”

Coming to Princeton this past summer to teach English at the Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science (PRISMS), May took on a labor of love, becoming the head coach of its boys’ soccer team.

At the outset, May wasn’t sure what he had in terms of the talent on hand. more

FAST COMPANY: The top three female finishers in the HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon are all smiles after the race which took place on November 13. Pictured, from left, are Sarah Walker (3rd place), Valentyna Veretska (1st), and former WW/P-South and Cornell track and cross country star Caroline Kellner (2nd). Veretska, who recently came to the U.S. from Ukraine, set a new female course record with her time of 1:18.06. Princeton resident Kanato Goto placed first of 1,383 finishers in a time of 1:11.07. (Photo provided by HiTOPS)

By Bill Alden

Setting the pace at the 10th annual HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon, Kanato Goto placed first of 1,383 finishers in the November 13 event.

Princeton resident Goto, 33, covered the challenging 13.1 mile course in a time of 1:11.07. 

But perhaps the most emotional and historic performance at the race was produced by Valentyna Veretska, who recently came to the U.S. from Ukraine. Veretska was the first women’s finisher and third overall, clocking a time of 1:18.06 to set a new female course record.

Veretska, 32, is an accomplished runner and is ranked 444th in the world of female runners. One of her many accomplishments in the sport include winning the Jerusalem Marathon one month to the day after fleeing Ukraine, wearing borrowed gear and without her coach (and husband). Her husband and daughter were on the sidelines in Princeton to cheer her on.

After the race, she posted a heartfelt message on her social media account.

“Finally my first steps in sports life in USA are made,” wrote Veretska. “It’s a cold rainy day today, but that didn’t stop it. The competition was great! Friendly almost family atmosphere, support throughout the race track, many new acquaintances and a lot of kind words in support of Ukraine. Princeton you will forever be in my heart. First place with a record of a race for not an easy track.”

Additional history was made by Amy Read, 28, of Pennington, who set the a new nonbinary course record with a time of 1:52:43, besting the previous mark of 2:24.28 set in 2019. more

EYEING SUCCESS: Princeton University wrestling head coach Chris Ayres, right, and associate head coach Joe Dubuque display their intensity in a 2020 dual match. Ayres and Dubuque are expecting big things from their wrestlers this winter as Princeton comes off a historic 2021-22 campaign that saw Patrick Glory take second in the NCAA Championships at 125 pounds and Quincy Monday place second at 157. The Tigers have their first dual of the 2022-23 season when they wrestle at Indiana on November 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Chris Ayres, falling short of his goal to win an NCAA title during his Lehigh University wrestling career put him on the path to coaching.

“It was an ending goal and then when I didn’t do it; I felt I had more to do in the sport and now I think I am where I belong,” said Princeton University wrestling head coach Ayres, who placed sixth at 157 pounds at the NCAAs in his senior season at Lehigh. “I think I am very analytical in the areas that I failed in. I worked on them to teach other people so maybe they wouldn’t make those mistakes. I am still chasing it. We had some national champs at Lehigh when I coached there. Here at Princeton, it feels like it is a little more invested because I have been here so long and it has been such an uphill climb. Not doing it helped me become a really good coach.”

Last winter, Ayres nearly guided two of his wrestlers to NCAA titles as Patrick Glory took second at 125 pounds in the national final and Quincy Monday was the runner-up at 157.

“It is proof of concept; I know we do the right things, we can produce Olympic champions and national champions,” said Ayres. “Quincy and Pat proved it to themselves because we hadn’t had anyone in the finals. It has been year after year, we keep doing things we haven’t done before. Those guys getting to the finals was one of those things. One of the interesting things is that we have never really taken steps backwards where we didn’t do things we hadn’t done before. That should just make everyone excited that we are going to do something bigger this year and what that bigger thing is.” more

RETURN ENGAGEMENT: Princeton University women’s hockey player Sarah Fillier controls the puck in recent action. Junior forward Fillier starred as Princeton swept a two-game set against Syracuse last weekend. She tallied a goal and an assist as the Tigers prevailed 4-2 on Friday and then added an assist in a 1-0 Princeton win a day later. Fillier, who is returning to Princeton after a two-year hiatus which saw her help the Canadian national women’s team win two world championships and an Olympic gold medal, is leading Princeton in scoring with six points on three goals and three assists. The Tigers, now 3-3 overall and 1-3 ECAC Hockey, host St. Lawrence on November 18 and Clarkson on November 19. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Sarah Fillier took a two-year hiatus from the Princeton University women’s hockey team to join the Canadian women’s national team and emerged as an international star in the process.

High-scoring forward Fillier helped Canada win the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships in 2021 and 2022 as well as the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. At the Olympics, Fillier tallied eight goals to rank second among all players in the tournament, and had 11 points to stand sixth.

For Fillier, earning Olympic gold proved to be a highlight of her time away from Princeton.

“A lot has happened; I think winning Olympic gold is a highlight for sure,” said Fillier, a 5’5 native of Georgetown, Ontario. “That is what I grew up dreaming about. Every decision I made in hockey and the decision to come to Princeton was with that in mind. For it to come true and happen, was the coolest experience of my life.”

It is cool for junior Fillier to be back at Princeton to resume her college career.

“It has been exciting, it has been a long wait to come back,” said Fillier. “I have been waiting to come back. To be back on campus and in school and playing with the girls has been a lot of fun.”

Playing with twin sister Kayla, who is in her senior year at Princeton, has been particularly fun for Fillier.

“It has been great, if COVID didn’t happen and I was away at the Olympics, we would have never had the chance to play together for her senior year,” said Fillier. “It is nice. We grew up playing hockey together. To see her grow as a player and a person and watch her develop from a fan’s point of view, it is just really cool to see her live her dream out.”

Living out her dreams on the world stage had helped Fillier grow as player. more

STONE AGE: Princeton University women’s basketball player Grace Stone looks to pass the ball in recent action. Last Friday, senior Stone scored 17 points in a losing cause as Princeton fell 69-59 to Villanova. Stone and the Tigers bounced back on Monday as the Tigers topped Seton Hall 62-58 to improve to 2-1. In upcoming action, Princeton hosts Fordham on November 16 and then plays at Buffalo on November 19. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Grace Stone struggled a bit on the opening night of her final season for the Princeton University women’s basketball team.

While Princeton defeated Temple 67-49 on November 7 in its season opener, senior guard Stone was cold, going 1-for-6 from the floor with three points in 24 minutes of action.

Last Friday as Princeton hosted Villanova, Stone started out sizzling, scoring 15 points in the first quarter, including four 3-pointers, as the Tigers led 21-20 heading into the second.

“I was just trying to be aggressive, just taking whatever the defense gave me,” said Stone, a 5’11 native of Glen Cove, N.Y., who averaged 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists last season. “I was just finding open spots and just trying to shoot in my rhythm. Every game is different, every team is different. They were giving me the three so I decided to take them.”

Princeton, though, had trouble guarding Villanova in the second quarter as the Wildcats outscored the Tigers 21-9 to build a 41-30 halftime lead.

“We had a scout, we knew what we were doing,” said Stone. “I think it was a communications thing, that comes with games early in the season. It is something we definitely need to work on moving forward.” more

POWER HITTER: Princeton High girls’ volleyball star Naomi Lygas makes a hit in recent action. Last week, freshman star Lygas contributed 13 kills and 10 digs in a losing cause as third-seeded PHS fell 2-1 to top-seeded Colts Neck in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 Central Jersey sectional final. The defeat in the November 8 contest left the Tigers with a final record of 21-5. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Competing in the program’s first-ever sectional final, the Princeton High girls’ volleyball team got off to a good start as it played at Colt’s Neck.

Third-seeded PHS won the first set 25-17 over the top-seeded Cougars in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 Central Jersey title game on November 8.

“We served tough, we passed well and that allowed us to run a consistent offense,” said PHS head coach Patty Manhart. “We kept them out of system so they really weren’t giving us their best attack coming over.”

Colts Neck, though, went on the attack after that, taking the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-18, to win the match.

“In the second set right away, we fell into a hole on serve receive and when that happens it is tough,” said Manhart. “Even though it happened early in the game, going down eight points, that is just a really big deficit to overcome. Even though we did chip away and get closer, there are certain things that another team picks on. It is hard to make up for it.”

While the defeat stung, getting to the sectional final was a special breakthrough for the players.

“It is exciting, it meant so much to the girls,” said Manhart, whose team finished the fall with a 21-5 record. “We don’t have any titles in the state sectional or playoffs on the banners in our gym. The banner has a league championship and they all badly wanted to add a state sectional to that.” more

SPOILS OF VICTORY: Members of the Princeton Day School girls’ cross country team display the trophies they earned for placing first in the Prep B state meet on November 1 at the Blair Academy. Pictured, from left, are assistant coach Chris Devlin, Jesse Hollander, Maddy Weinstein, Emily McCann, Natalia Soffer, Brooke Law, Harleen Sandu, Riya Mani, Jamie Crease, assistant coach Kelly Clark, and head coach Mike Mazzei. It marked the first Prep B title for the girls’ cross country program. (Photo provided by Mike Mazzei)

By Bill Alden

Mike Mazzei brought an intensity and work ethic to the Princeton Day School cross country team as he took the helm of the program this fall.

Having walked on to the Rider University track and cross country program after competing at Middlesex County College, Mazzei developed into a star for the Broncs, culminating his career by helping the team’s 4×800-meter relay to a gold medal at the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Outdoor Championships and taking seventh in the 800 at that meet.

“The coach at Rider gave me an opportunity and when I met with him, he said I blew him way with how passionate I was to be great,” said Mazzei. “I made something out of myself. I put the work in and started to be one of the better runners on the team.”

Drawing on his Rider experience, Mazzei had high aspirations for PDS in his debut season.

“I came to PDS and my goal was to win Prep championship,” said Mazzei, who helped coach the PDS track program this past spring and had previously coached at his high school alma mater St Thomas Aquinas (formerly known as Bishop Ahr). “When I was in college, I always wanted to win conference titles.”

Mazzei helped the Panthers achieve that goal as the PDS girls’ squad placed first in the Prep B state meet on November 1 at the Blair Academy. The Panthers had a team score of 37 with runner up Rutgers Prep coming in at 80, producing a dominant performance in earning the girls program’s first-ever Prep B crown. more