ON THE BALL: Princeton Day School boys’ soccer player Kevin Hagan goes after the ball in a recent game. Last Friday, senior forward Hagan contributed two goals and an assist as PDS topped Morrisville High (Pa.) 6-0. The Panthers improved to 8-4 with the win as they posted their fifth straight victory. PDS was slated to host Hun on October 13 before starting play in the Mercer County Tournament and the state Prep B tourney. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For Kevin Hagan and his teammates on the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team, defeating Lawrenceville 1-0 earlier this month was a watershed moment.

“We hadn’t beaten them in 32 years since 1983; it was a huge confidence booster,” said senior forward Hagan.

“Coming off losses to Pennington and Peddie, beating Lawrenceville shows us how good we can be and that these teams aren’t any bigger than we are. We can play with them, we can beat them, and we can be better than them.”

Hosting Abington Friends (Pa.) last Wednesday, PDS didn’t play its best as it was sluggish.

“I think everyone was a little too laid back in the beginning,” said Hagan.

“It was Senior Day and everyone was happy to be here and be on the field. Coming off the Lawrenceville game, I think we were thinking we were a little bit too good right now.”

Hagan helped PDS get on the board as he slotted a cross into the box that Diego Garcia buried in the back of the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 28:42 left in the first half.

“That was really great positioning by Diego, that made it easy for me,” recalled Hagan.

“He held his run well. I was able to slide right to him it was an easy ball, he freed himself up.”

Building on that tally, PDS was able to pull away to a 4-0 victory as Zach Dudeck, Connor Fletcher, and Hagan added goals.

Hagan’s score came on a free kick midway through the second half that he skipped past the goalie.

“I am just trying to get it over the wall,” said Hagan. “Obviously I didn’t this time but it worked out.”

Things are working out well for the Panthers, who went on to beat Morrisville High (Pa.) 6-0 on Friday to win their fifth straight game and improve to 8-4.

“Everyone is a little more confident and at the same time, when they make mistakes, they hold themselves way more accountable,” said Hagan, who had two goals and an assist in the win over Morrisville.

“I think as a team we trust each other a lot more. I think earlier in the season, the older guys were trying to control the game a little too much. We are handing it to the sophomores C. J. Uche and Donovan Davis. Luke Franzoni, especially, has shown a lot of improvement.”

The team’s seniors have developed a high level of trust in each other over the years.

“I just feel this year the seniors are really close and tight,” added Hagan, whose classmates on the squad include Max Adam, Chris Chai, Connor Fletcher, Noam Jacoby, Aidan Jones, Amir Melvin, Ben Multak, Isaac Rosenthal, and Peter Sanderson. “Everyone wants everyone else to do well.”

PDS head coach Malcolm Murphy honored his seniors by getting them all in the game at the same time late in the win over Abington Friends.

“They have done well by us, they got their just rewards being on the field all 10 together,” said Murphy.

“I was happy for them. At the end of the day, they are here for the camaraderie and the social side as well and they came across with that today.”

Murphy likes the way Hagan has been coming through in his final campaign with the program.

“Kevin is playing very well,” asserted Murphy. “He is a different type of player, he holds the ball well and he has got good speed. Kevin sets a lot of players up and if we had a finisher playing alongside him, we would get a lot more goals. He is doing a great job at the moment. He is very, very dynamic and he wants to go for goal so he is the one who will break the opposition down.”

In Murphy’s view, the breakthrough win over Lawrenceville could be a turning point for his side.

“It was exceptional; you could tell that the psychology was that they loved it,” said Murphy.

“They can’t wait to pay some of the other top teams as well now so they want to see how far they can go now.”

With the postseason around the corner, the Panthers need to be sharper around the goal in order to go far.

“We have got some good things going but when you play the top teams, we are going to have to finish a lot more and better than we are doing at the moment,” said Murphy, whose team was slated to host Hun on October 13 in its regular season final before starting play in the Mercer County Tournament and the state Prep B tourney.

“When you meet the Princetons, and Penningtons, you are not going to get many opportunities so you have to take the individual ones seriously and put them away. We do a lot of finishing in training sessions but we are not very good at it. It is just composure. We are getting players in the right spot but we are shanking things because we are not confident and composed on the ball. They rush things rather than take the time and finish.”

Hagan, for his part, is committed to leading PDS to a big finish. “I am trying to show the younger guys to work hard and not get frustrated,” said Hagan.

“I am trying to show them fundamentals but it is mostly an attitude thing. I am always trying to be serious.”