GIFT OF GAB: Princeton High girls’ soccer player Gabrielle Deitch, right, chases after a ball in a 2014 game. Last Saturday against visiting Ewing, senior midfielder and tri-captain Deitch scored a goal but it wasn’t enough as PHS fell 3-2 to the Blue Devils. PHS, which dropped to 3-1 with the setback, was slated to play at Lawrence on October 1 before hosting Steinert on October 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Hosting Ewing last Saturday, the Princeton High girls’ soccer team got an early wake-up call as it yielded two unanswered goals in the first five minutes of the contest.

“I think in the first 10 minutes of that half, we didn’t have our heads right, we weren’t as focused as we needed to be,” said senior star midfielder and tri-captain Gabrielle Deitch.

“Unfortunately it took their goals to get us to go that extra mile on the field. After that, we were really motivated to retaliate.”

Deitch took it upon herself to retaliate, making a run through the Ewing defense and blasting a shot into the back of the net with 21:27 left in the half.

“I was really determined on that one; I was trying to get to goal,” recalled Deitch.

“We really needed a goal to pick us up to show that we were still in that game and it wasn’t over.”

After trailing 2-1 at halftime, PHS fell behind 3-1 as Ewing tallied with 17:48 left in regulation. The Little Tigers, though, didn’t give up, as Hanna Rush scored on a Taylor Lis feed to make it 3-2 with 5:59 remaining. PHS kept pressing  forward but couldn’t manage another goal as Ewing held on for the win.

“I thought that was good because we were going to show that the extra goal was not going to get us down,” said Deitch, reflecting on the late surge by PHS.

“There was still so much time left. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough; we got close. I think that shows what we are as a team, we are going to fight until the last second no matter what the score is.”

Coming into Saturday, PHS realized that it faced a fight with gritty underdog Ewing.

“We knew going in that this was going to be a tough game but we didn’t quite play like that from the start,” said Deitch. “I think we have to play how we practice.”

Deitch likes how her team has played overall this fall as it has started 3-1. “I am really happy, it is not a bad way to start,” said Deitch.

“We were just saying as disappointing as it is to lose, it is better to get this game now and learn from it so we can do well the rest of the season.”

As the season unfolds, Deitch is determined to be a catalyst for the Little Tigers.

“I see my role as getting that ball up the field and going to goal or passing back to the forwards to finish,” explained Deitch.

“It is the kind of role I think I have grown into since freshman year. I have been playing there for a while and it is where I see myself.”

PHS head coach Val Rodriguez is seeing some good things from Deitch. “Her touch on the ball and her vision is top notch,” said Rodriguez.

“Like I told her at halftime, I didn’t even see the gap she created. She split two players and went to the goal. There was nothing even around her except three defenders; she had to create what she could and it is magic for her.”

Reflecting on the loss to Ewing, Rodriguez acknowledged that PHS created problems for itself through its early lapses.

“We came out sluggish, letting them get behind us and inside us very easily,” said Rodriguez.

“A 2-0 hole against a good team is very difficult to come out of. I felt the team played well after about the 10-minute mark into the game. Unfortunately, sometimes bounces don’t go your way. We hit crossbars and shots went wide but the reality is that is what happens. You can’t hope that luck goes your way. You have to make your opportunities the best that you can.”

In Rodriguez’s view, the squad needs to find a way to play better around goal at both ends of the field.

“My message to the team is that we weren’t disciplined on both 18s today, both defensively and offensively,”  said Rodriguez. “No. 3 scored their third goal wide open and we can’t have that.”

While the loss to Ewing stung, Rodriguez believes the Little Tigers have shown plenty of promise in the early going.

“We are upset, it is Homecoming and you want it,” said Rodriguez. “But it isn’t tournament season yet. We are not going to have a perfect record. I am happy with where we are at.”

Deitch, for her part, wants to go out with a bang in her final season with the program.

“It would have been awesome to win the Homecoming game but there is so much more to come and I am looking forward to that,” said Deitch.

“I think we all want to do well and leave everything out there because we don’t want to have any regrets looking back.”