CREASE CONTROL Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse goalie Eric Gellasch makes a save in a game this spring. Senior star Gellasch came up big to help PDS finish the 2021 season with a final record of 8-7 as it won its last five games. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team got off to a 2-6 start this spring, its players could have written off the season.

Instead, PDS made a run to the state Prep B title game where it fell 13-8 to Montclair Kimberley Academy and then rebounded to reel off five straight wins to end the spring at 8-7.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys’ resiliency,” said PDS head coach Joe Moore.

“You look at the first half of our season and we easily could have just thrown in the towel and looked ahead to next year. A lot of credit goes to our seniors for really continuing to motivate our younger guys and staying focused on the next practice, the next game.”

Those seniors went out on a high note as PDS defeated St. Joe’s Metuchen 10-6 in its season finale on May 28.

“That was an awesome game, it was a late add for us so it was our last game for our seniors,” said Moore, who got two goals and an assist from senior standout Gibson Linnehan in the win with fellow seniors Drew McConaughy tallying a goal and three assists, Xander Gardner chipping in two goals, Trevor Kunkle adding a goal and an assist, and Aidan McChesney contributing a goal.

“It was fun to watch those guys really just enjoy playing together. From a coaching perspective, we did not put pressure on them. We said just go out and enjoy each other’s company on the field. That was a nice win and a nice way to close out the season.”

In Moore’s view, the return of McConaughy from injury helped trigger the surge.

“We got Drew back which was a big influence on the offense,” said Moore.

“He was a big help for us. He wasn’t putting up monster numbers but for him to just be out there controlling things, that was meaningful.”

Featuring a battle-tested defensive unit, the Panthers controlled things at that end of the field.

“Our defense has been our anchor all year and to dig a little deeper on that, it was really our goalie Eric Gellasch,” said Moore.

“He stood on his head in those last five games but really the whole second half of the season. He was something special for us. We really relied on our defense to create offense.”

The PDS squad dug deep over the last two springs, displaying a special character as it worked through the pandemic and dealt with the untimely death last year of Pete Higgins, a beloved coach who was a fixture with the program.

“While we didn’t win as many games as we had hoped to, I still consider the season a big success with the adversity we faced last year not just with coronavirus but the loss of Higgs, who had such a connection with so many of these kids,” said Moore, whose players wore T-shirts under the uniforms imprinted with “Higgs” across the back.

“The season meant so much more after what happened last season so that no matter what happened, the season was a success.”

That resilience is a product of the program’s culture. “It was a roller-coaster of emotion, looking at the program, I think about what it means to be a PDS lacrosse player and coach,” said Moore.

“We couldn’t be more on track, it is a true brotherhood from top to bottom. That is what I care about most, having each other’s backs. I care most about how these kids carry themselves off the field and helping them become nice, respectful young men through lacrosse.”

The team’s senior group earned a ton of respect from Moore.

“Our 10 seniors were incredible, a lot was asked of them this year,” said Moore, whose Class of ’21 included Bruno Cucchi, Hector Capeilleres, Alex Darenkov, and Alex Liu Nowakoski in addition to Linnehan, McConaughy, Gardner, Kunkle, McChesney, and Gellasch.

“We had so many young guys in our program and the seniors understand that it is so important to leave the program in better shape than they found it. They embraced that entire mentality. I give them more credit than I ever could. They just came to practice ready to work every day. They were just great mentors, more than anything, to our younger guys.”

Several of the team’s young guns stepped up, including freshmen Sebastian Rzeczycki, Charlie Hogshire, and Logan Hermann along with sophomores Harrison Bernardi, Nick Somogyi, Oliver Hall, and Will Brown.

“Our younger guys on the offensive side of the ball really started to come into themselves,” said Moore.

“Sebastian is going to be something special for us. We spent the whole year trying to boost his confidence. It came down to him just understanding his own capabilities and understanding his role. Charlie was great. If he can get a little bit bigger, he is going to be something really special too.”

With that returning firepower in place, Moore believes the team can do some special things going forward. 

“I think it is going to flip a little bit in terms of our strengths, next year it will be more offense,” said Moore.

“Defensively, we will have a new goalie in net and some new close defensemen. We have some holes to fill on that side of the ball. In general, I am really excited for next season and the next three years. That whole freshman group is something special and we have some good guys coming in too.”

In filling those holes, it will be all hands on deck for PDS as usual.

“My biggest message to them is to keep everything in perspective this past season and the season coming up,” said Moore.

“It means a lot to be a PDS lacrosse player, it is not easy. One of the special things about our program is that we are so small. We don’t have offensive midfielders, we don’t have defensive midfielders, we just have midfielders. I put myself in the kids’ shoes and think this is great, I can just go out and play lacrosse. There is lot of flexibility on the field, we don’t have those numbers like other teams do.”