TURNING THE PAIGE: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Paige Gardner races upfield in 2022 action. Senior star and Fairfield University commit Gardner figures to spark the PDS attack again after having scored 78 goals last season as the Panthers won both the Prep B state and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B titles. PDS, which will be led by new coach Tracy Young in the wake of the retirement of the legendary Jill Thomas, was slated to open its 2023 campaign by hosting the Blair Academy on April 4, Shore Regional on April 6, and Pennington School on April 11. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Succeeding a legendary coach is never easy, but Tracy Young appears to be up for the challenge in getting promoted to lead the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse program.

With Jill Thomas, a member of the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame, having retired last year and going out in a blaze of glory guiding PDS to both Prep B state and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B titles, longtime assistant Young is now in charge of the Panthers.

Having served seven years a coach with the program, it has been a smooth transition so far for Young and her players.

“I think they were relieved — they know me and they know my coaching style,” said Young, a third grade teacher in the PDS lower school. “I think there is a sense of relief because they weren’t going have to start anew. I know the program, I know the players, I know the parents. Some of these are kids I have taught in my classroom. I have a very strong connection with the players and a strong connection with a lot of the families.”

Young, 52, boasts a strong lacrosse background, having starred at Princeton High before going on to become an All-American defender at Roanoke College. Young got into coaching through the Princeton Lacrosse Club, becoming involved with that program in 2009 when her older daughter, Jordan, was starting to play the game.

Joining the PDS coaching staff in 2015, Young clicked with Thomas as their approaches complemented each other.

“We worked really, really well together with the balance that we always had,” said Young. “Jill referred to herself as the hard and me as the soft — we have very different coaching styles. Sometimes we debated about the best way to do things. At the end of the day, we were always able to come to a compromise. I was primarily responsible for the attack and Jill was primarily responsible for the defense, but collectively together we were responsible for the team.”

Young didn’t jump at the chance to succeed her mentor as she wasn’t initially involved in the selection progress for a new coach. Contemplating stepping back from coaching, Young answered the call when school asked her to take the helm in January.

“One of the things I said to the girls was that clearly it wasn’t my time to leave the game yet,” said Young. “I told them I do feel that things happen for a reason.”

Young is expecting great things this spring from her quartet of seniors — Arden Bogle, Paige Gardner, Sophie Jaffe, and Leigh Hillmanno.

“We have four seniors, we have named them captains; one of the things that is great is that I have them spread across the field,” said Young, noting that each of the seniors will be playing at the next level with Bogle heading to George Washington, Gardner to Fairfield University, Jaffe to Haverford College, and Hillmanno to Smith College.

“I have Arden in goal and Paige has stepped up and is doing midfield for us. Sophie is going to hold down the fort at attack. Leigh will hold down our defensive end. One thing I am really happy about is that I have senior leadership at all ends of the field.”

The Panthers feature plenty of offensive firepower returning from a squad that went 14-9 last spring on its way to the two championships.

Jaffe, who tallied 38 goals and 14 assists in 2022, has established herself as a clutch performer for PDS

“Sophie is somebody we can rely on in those situations. She is just a calm, focused player who really can set the tone,” said Young.

The one-two punch of Gardner (78 goals, 20 assists in 2022) and junior Tessa Caputo (52 goals, 37 assists), who has also committed to Fairfield, can score in just about any situation.

“Paige and Tessa will be doing a shift between midfield and attack this season,” said Young. “Tessa is six away from her 100th goal. She has been and will continue to be a very finessed, beautiful player to watch who will definitely have a huge impact. Paige has that shot. I expect the same production of her this year, I expect her to not let up at all.”

In addition to that trio, junior Katie Zarish-Yasunas, junior Kelly Christie, sophomore Shelby Ruf, and junior Jesse Hollander will give balance to the PDS offense.

“Katie is going to be a huge support on the attack,” said Young. “I am really looking for Kelly and Katie to spearhead my low attack and rotate in and to have Tessa in there too. Shelby will see time in midfield, her size is great for midfield. She is quick, agile and is a tough defender. She is ready to play more on attack. Jesse will also be working in the midfield. Kelly, Jess, and Shelby have a very selfless game.”

On defense, Hillmanno and junior Maddy Flory will be leading the way.

“Leigh is just a solid defender; she is somebody Arden, our goalie, has a really strong connection with too,” said Young. “Leigh has been a varsity player for four years. She has the work ethic; she is tough, tenacious defender. Leigh has come into her own as a leader — she has had other leadership around her before but she is really happy to take on that role. Maddy is also one of our returning defenders. It is a really solid base with the two of them back there. They are both very tenacious, heads up defenders that are really going to help us along the way.”

Senior goalie Bogle, who made 144 saves in 2022, gives the Panthers solid play in the cage.

“Arden has been working hard over the summer,” said Young. “My hope is that she will continue to improve through this year. She does have those clutch saves that have always kept us in it. Her height is a huge advantage for her in the goal and her skill set has continued to improve.”

With PDS slated to open its 2023 campaign by hosting the Blair Academy on April 4, Shore Regional on April 6, and Pennington School on April 11, Young is hoping her squad can recapture the special chemistry that set it apart last spring.

“Where we spearheaded them last year was focusing on the team aspect, the mantra was ‘we, not me,’ ” said Young. “We need to hang on to that, bringing in new players. When we are a team that works together, they work really, really well. When we start to play selfish lacrosse and start to focus on just trying to get that one goal, it doesn’t seem nearly as effective with this group. They play very beautiful transition lacrosse when they work together, supporting each other, and we have to re-gel that now. Patience is also going to be a key to our game. We were down in a lot of games and we just played patient lacrosse and were able to work our way back into it. As long as they have that mantra in their head, they can put themselves in a really great position.”