WILL TO WIN: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Will Brossman heads to goal in recent action. Last Sunday, senior star and Middlebury College-bound Brossman tallied four goals to help PDS defeat Albany Academy (N.Y.) 14-6. The Panthers, now 8-2, play at Newark Academy on May 3. In addition, PDS will start play in the Mercer County Tournament where it is seeded first and will host a quarterfinal game on May 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For Will Brossman, doing some extensive homework four years ago helped make him into a dead-eye shooter for the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team.

“My dad’s summer project one year was setting up turf in my back yard where I could go and shoot,” said Brossman.

“I had this nice structure in my backyard so I could go home and shoot. I was a freshman and I would just shoot and shoot and shoot.”

As he took the field for PDS last Sunday against visiting Albany Academy (N.Y.) with the program holding its annual Senior Day ceremony, senior star Brossman stood at 93 goals in his career.

“It was pretty crazy, I actually just had my last day of real high school on Friday because we do senior projects,” said Brossman, reflecting on the pregame Senior Day festivities.

“It is tough because I am not going to be able to see these guys in the hallways any more. I still have the rest of the tournament season to see these guys. It was tear-jerking to see my parents. I think my mom was crying a little bit.”

With the Panthers coming off a tough 8-7 loss to Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.) a day earlier, Brossman got things rolling, firing a rocket past the Albany Academy goalie 2:32 into the contest to open the scoring. He ended up with four tallies on the day as PDS pulled away to a 14-6 victory, improving to 8-2.

“I have been having a tough time shooting this year so it felt nice to bury the first one and get that out of the way,” said Brossman.

“I am finally homing in on my shot; it is the perfect time for me to do it.”

The PDS attack unit homed in on its possession game in the victory, patiently picking apart the Albany Academy defense.

“We play best when we play our game and our game is pressing the ball and then slowing it down again,” said Brossman.

“When we can control tempo, we are pretty unstoppable. We were talking about lock sets and how sometimes they will go out to lock Elon (Tuckman) or to lock me. We have got five other guys on the field who can score the ball.”

While Brossman and his teammates were happy to get back on the winning track, they have their sights set in bigger things.

“We talked about putting that loss in the rear view mirror and really working hard on the next step,” said Brossman.

“Now we have the tournament season in front of us and we are going to forget this game and really just focus on what it is in front of us.”

As a battle-tested senior, the Middlebury College-bound Brossman is determined to help his teammates keep their focus in the postseason.

“I have seen my role change since I was a freshman,” added Brossman.

“Right now I am just trying to be a good leader to these guys and still play the game well. It has been a really good experience, especially this year.”

PDS head coach Rich D’Andrea likes the brand of leadership he is seeing from his senior class, which includes Jack Amaral, Tyler Birch, Nick Day, Coby Gibson, and Peter Shannon, in addition to Brossman.

“We knew this was going to be a special and tight knit group for a number of years now so it is nice to see them as leaders and how the others look up to them,” said D’Andrea.

“This group has a pretty sharp-witted sense of humor; they are a pretty fun group. They are a group that knows when to work and they know when it is time to be serious.”

D’Andrea was happy to see his team put in some good work as they bounced back from the defeat on Saturday.

“Today was one that we needed; yesterday we played a really talented team and we just don’t quite connect,” said D’Andrea. “It was good for us to come out there today and rebound.”

The PDS offense connected well in the win over Albany Academy. “It was 3-2 with six minutes left in the second quarter and we went on one of those runs and we were able to put it together a little bit,” said D’Andrea.

“I think that is a sign of an intelligent team when they can be methodical and take their time to pick apart a zone. It shows the cerebral aspects of the game. That is the expectation here but guys really take that to heart; they work to understand the game.”

The Panthers also excelled in two other key facets of the game, face-offs and defense.

“I don’t even know if Nick Day lost a face-off today, he was unbelievable,” said D’Andrea.

“The defense played really well. Connor Green has been unbelievable between the pipes this year so we have been really strong at that end to coach (Rob) Tuckman’s credit. He has done a great job with those guys.”

With PDS seeded first in both the state Prep B tourney and Mercer County Tournament and entering the postseason as the defending champs in both competitions, D’Andrea is hoping for another strong postseason run.

“I think we have a pretty good sense of who we are and what it is we are trying to accomplish,” said D’Andrea, whose team starts play in the MCT and will host a quarterfinal game on May 6.

“We watch a lot of film, we scout. The guys know their assignments and that is going to be the key. It is a high volume of games in a short period of time. It is a matter of getting the scouts down and some of these teams we will be seeing for a second time so that is always a challenge. We are looking forward to it.”

Brossman, for his part, believes the Panthers will be up for the challenge of defending their titles.

“We had really good senior leaders in the past when I was a sophomore and a freshman,” said Brossman.

“Now I am here as a senior leader. We have got all the faith in the world in these guys. I think we are going to turn some heads here.”