SAVING THE DAY: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer goalie Shelby Ruf clears the ball last Wednesday as fifth-seeded PDS hosted eighth-seeded St. John Vianney in the semifinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public A Tournament. Junior goalie Ruf made a clutch save in a penalty kick shootout as the Panthers advanced to the final. PHS, who moved to 16-3-2, with win were slated to play at third-seeded Trinity Hall in the final on November 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer goalie Shelby Ruf got ready to face the third shot from St. John Vianney in a penalty kick shootout last Friday in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public A semis, her teammates shouted encouragement.

But junior Ruf tuned them out as she focused on the task at hand.

“I just went in there open-minded, pick a side, stick with it and do your best; I know my team has my back,” said Ruf. “Most girls are righty and most of time times they are going to open their hips so I just went for a side.”

Ruf did her best, diving to her left to make the save. The PDS players finished the deal, nailing all five shots to earn the win, sparking a raucous celebration as the squad mobbed Ruf, chanting, “Shelby, Shelby, Shelby.”

“I knew they were going to put it away so I just had to get one save and we were good,” said Ruf, reflecting on a contest which saw the foes play to a scoreless stalemate though 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. “We had practiced PKs all week.”

PHS, who moved to 16-3-2 with win, were slated to play at third-seeded Trinity Hall in the final on November 7. The Monarchs are led by former PDS head coach Pat Trombetta, who guided the Panthers for 14 seasons through 2020. In his time guiding the team, the Panthers went 177-62-19, winning eight Prep B state titles (2008, 2010, 2014-2019) and one Mercer County Tournament crown (2013) along the way.

In Ruf’s view, the PDS defense gives it a chance against anyone.

“I feel like our defense is the biggest part of our team, we have done well all season,” said Ruf. “There were definitely some risky situations today, but I feel like we handled them well. Tochi [Owunna] and Ella [McLaren] in the back have stepped up big this season.”

Having lost a penalty shootout to Blair in the Prep state quarters on October 24, the Panthers were determined to step up when their clash with the Lancers ended up in the same high stakes scenario.

“I feel like it makes us more hungry,” said Ruf. “We lost our PK shootout, we had lost in overtime. I feel like we weren’t going to give up.”

Coming through and making the program’s first sectional final was the fruit of a lot of labor for PDS.

“It means the world, we have worked so hard,” said Ruf. “In preseason, it was two hours every morning. We have put in the work, we have put in the time. I feel this is huge for us.”

Ruf, who switched from defense to goalie in her sophomore season, has put in a lot of work to master her new position.

“I don’t play club, it is all here,” said Ruf. “We have Matt [Goldberg], the goalie coach; we have spent every morning working in the preseason. I have goalie training every year, you go in and do everything you can. You know your team is going to have your back on the rest of it.

PDS head coach Chris Pettit acknowledged that his team worked hard to generate offense against St. Vianney.

“It was kind of a stalemate; they put a lot of people behind the ball and we struggled to break them down,” said Pettit. “Makena [Graham] had a little success as the game wore on but generally speaking we didn’t create too much from it. At times, it was tough. We probably would have done better to do something different and try and hit some long range shots.”

In the shootout, though, the Panthers buried five straight shots as Adriana Salzano, Sophia Vriesendorp, Owunna, Ava “AJ” Szalabofka, and Ella McLaren came through in that order.

“It was huge, especially as we had lost that last shootout we were in,” said Pettit. “It was a big moment, especially as Ella and AJ had both missed previously. It was quite nice for them to come back out and get their redemption. All of the penalties we had were really, really good penalties, it was very clean.”

It was nice for Ruf to come up with her big save. “She saved the one she saved,” said Pettit. “Even on the ones she didn’t save, she had read them right,  guessed right and came pretty close. That is a big thing.”

Pettit is confident that PDS will produce a big effort in the matchup against Trinity Hall.

“First and foremost, we have got to appreciate it, they don’t come around every year,” said Pettit. “We have to enjoy that. I think we have got to go into it feeling pretty confident. We don’t give up many goals and we move the ball around very well. We score from a variety of different places so I am excited for us to go there and put all of that on display and hopefully we can come out on top. Us going to Coach T is a nice story.”

No matter what happens in the final, Pettit is proud of the character and unity his players have displayed as they bounced back from tough losses in the Mercer County Tournament and the Prep tourney.

“To come back the way they have has been very good,” said Pettit. “The one thing I will say from this group this year especially is that the connection that they have with each other is really, really good. The team chemistry, the culture, we have worked really hard on that over the last two or three years and this year has been the best it has been. I think that type of thing allows moments like this to happen.”

In Ruf’s view, that togetherness will help the Panthers in their clash against Trinity Hall.

“That is going to be a big game,” said Ruf. “This year our team chemistry is through the roof. It has never been this good, that is what we pride ourselves on. We have each other’s back.”