HALL PASS: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Ollie Hall heads upfield in a game this spring. Last Saturday, senior attacker Hall passed for five assists but it wasn’t enough as third-seeded PDS fell 10-8 to top-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s in the NJSIAA Non-Public Group B state final last Saturday at East Brunswick High. PDS finished the spring with a 15-7 record as it won the Prep B state title along the way. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Ollie Hall had extra incentive to make the most out of his last chance to take the field for the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team as it faced Gill St. Bernard’s in the NJSIAA Non-Public Group B state final last Saturday.

After having been sidelined for the Non-Public quarterfinal and semi due to a concussion, senior attacker Hall got cleared for the final on Friday and he wanted to return the favor his teammates had given him by advancing to the title game in his absence.

“These boys really put on a clinic and got us here to the finals,” said Hall. “If they were going to give me a shot to play in this game, I was going to show up.”

Showing his offensive flair with some slick passing, Hall got two assists as PDS jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the contest which was played at East Brunswick High.

“We were feeling amazing, we really came out swinging,” said Hall. “I had full trust in these boys to play well.”

But Gill narrowed the gap to 5-4 at halftime and forged ahead 7-5 midway through the third quarter.

Heading into the fourth quarter, PDS was down 9-7 and narrowed the gap to 9-8 but couldn’t get any closer as Gill prevailed 10-8 to win the title.

“The game got away from us a little at the end,” said Hall, reflecting on the loss which left the Panthers with a final record of 15-7. “We weren’t worried but at the end of the day, it can’t always go your way.”

As PDS fought its heart out down the stretch of the contest, Hall set up Bernardi for the tally that got the Panthers to within one midway through the fourth quarter.

“Harry is my brother on and off the field, I couldn’t love that kid more,” said Hall, who assisted on three of Bernardi’s four goals in the contest. “Any time I see his stick, even if he has a guy on him, I just know that if I throw him the ball, he is putting it in the net.”

Hall acknowledged that PDS faced a tough task in trying to defeat Gill for a third straight time as the Panthers had defeated the Knights 9-6 in the Prep B state final on May 1 and 8-7 in a regular season contest on April 11.

“It is hard to beat a team three times in a row,” said Hall. “I wouldn’t want to play this game with anyone other than these boys. We definitely had the chance.”

While the defeat stung, Hall was proud of the strides PDS made this spring as it turned things around after going 6-11 in 2022.

“We improved from last year for sure,” said Hall, who ended up with 30 goals and 26 assists this season. “Even from the start of the year, we have grown so much as a team. I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”

PDS head coach Joe Moore credited Gill with producing a superb team effort in edging the Panthers.

“I think they tried to win their one-on-one matchups.Our defense has played really well all season; numbers 25 (Max Voigt) and two (Will Deo) were really focusing today and played really well,” said Moore. “The last time we played them, they didn’t play Deo in the first half. We knew that was going to shake things up in this one. At the end of the day, they just played lacrosse, and put balls in the back of the net a couple of more times the we did.”

In going from the disappointing campaign last year to a Prep B title and the program’s first-ever trip to the Non-Public final this season, PDS displayed focus and heart.

“It was amazing, I love these guys; I just told them we are more than a team, we are a family because of the adversity we have faced this year and we have stuck together through it all,” said Moore, who got three goals from freshman Andrew Ahrens in the final with sophomore Hart Nowakoski contributing one goal and one assist in addition to the four tallies from Bernardi.

“We easily could have folded after we lost to Allentown (6-5 in the Mercer County Tournament semis). The seniors put the team on their back and made sure that everybody dialed back in. We made a great run in this tournament and got to where we wanted to be and just came a little bit short. I am really proud of these guys.”

Moore was proud of how two of those seniors, Hall and Bernardi, stepped up on the final.

“They love each other; they have been connected all over the field all season whether it’s Harry or Ollie or our defense connecting with our offense,” said Moore. “It was nice to see our offense click with our role players, not necessarily Sebastian [Rzeczycki] or Andy [Ahrens]. It was nice to see that in our last game with those two seniors really clicking and putting some in the back of the net.”

It was the last game with the program for Moore, who had announced before the season that he would be stepping down after this spring to devote more time to his job at Centercourt and his young family.

“It is really hard, I have been dreading this day, win or lose,” said Moore, describing his emotions in the wake of the finale. “If we win, it was still going to be a hard day for me. On an individual level, I am so proud of this team. I just told them, ‘I have been in this sport for 25 years as a player or a coach and this is easily one of my favorite teams to be with because of who these guys are. I am going out exactly how I hoped to.’”

In reflecting on what will stand out about his PDS tenure, Moore pointed to the feeling of brotherhood among the guys that has been cultivated around the squad from year to year.

“We have had really talented players, but more than that we have had guys who just have great hearts and take something away from this program,” said Moore, whose players and coaches hugged each other one by one after the postgame talk.

“I think the coolest part is to see them come back to our practice field or to our games and give me a big hug. You can tell that they feel welcome into this program and I have always wanted to build that culture. It is a big piece of it.”

Hall, for his part, has developed bonds with his teammates that will last for a lifetime.

“On and off the field, every single one of these guys is absolutely amazing,” said Hall, who is heading to Lehigh University where he plans to play club ice hockey. “Even besides lacrosse, these are boys that I will have with me for the rest of my life.”