HALL PASS: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Kyra Hall, center, battles through two foes in a game last spring. Last Thursday, senior attacker Hall tallied four goals, including the 100th of her career, as PDS topped Peddie 13-10. The Panthers, who fell 17-8 to Moses Brown to move to 3-5, play at Pingry on April 26, and hosts Stuart Country Day on April 28 before starting play in the state Prep B tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Kyra Hall, helping the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team defeat Peddie 13-10 last Thursday proved to be a landmark day in her final campaign with the program.

The senior attacker hit the 100-goal mark in her career and broke out of a slump in the process.

“Peddie was exciting. I had a rough start to the season trying to figure out my shot and getting back to it,” said Hall.

“In the Peddie game, I put it all together, which was really exciting. Mentally, it was good for me to turn things around a little bit.”

In Hall’s view, the Panthers started getting things together when they topped Blair 17-12 on April 17.

“I think that this past week was really good for our team. We came out against Blair really strong; they were a really good team,” said Hall, noting that classmate Madison Mundenar hit the 200-goal mark in the win over the Buccaneers.

“They beat some of the teams that we lost to, so we knew it would be a challenge. We came out really fired up, we played together the entire game.”

On Sunday, PDS was fired up to host New England powerhouse Moses Brown (R.I.), whose team featured former Panther teammate and star goalie Caitlin Tucker. Hall scored the first goal of the contest but the Quakers responded with a four-goal run on the way to a 17-8 win.  

“They were definitely a challenge, it was fun,” said Hall, who ended up with two goals in the loss as the Panthers dropped to 3-5. 

“We are getting better at getting back to our game, the game we have been perfecting for the past three years – the pass, pass, pass, finish. We kind of got away from that in the beginning of the season, which is why we were struggling a little bit, but we are getting better at seeing each other again.”

With the state Prep B tourney and the Mercer County Tournament around the corner, Hall believes PDS is headed in the right direction.

“I think that we want to take that progress and roll with it, but we know there is some work to be done,” said Hall.

“We need to continue to keep it clean on the field and see each other really well. I also think that those two games were good for our confidence and our mental game. We are all super excited.”

PDS head coach Jill Thomas was excited to see her squad come through against Blair and Peddie.

“Those were huge wins for us. I think we really came together,” said Thomas.

While Thomas knew that the Panthers faced an uphill battle against Moses Brown, she believes the game will help steel the Panthers for postseason play.

“They are a very good team, well coached, with good skills, and fast,” said Thomas, whose squad plays at Pingry on April 26 and hosts Stuart Country Day on April 28 before starting play in the state Prep B tournament. “It gives us experience. Games like this can only help us. We have to get back to our game.”

Hall and her classmates are determined to go out with a bang as they pursue a fourth straight Prep B title.

“All of the seniors really, really want it; there is a lot of heart on this team,” asserted Hall.

“It is just continuing to put it together over these next few weeks. We all have that common goal in mind.”