COMING THROUGH: Princeton Day School boys’ soccer player Penn von Zelowitz, right, goes after the ball in game this fall. Junior von Zelowitz starred as 10th-seeded PDS made an improbable run to the semis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B Tournament. Von Zelowitz scored the winning goal as the Panthers upset second-seeded Doane Academy 1-0 in overtime in the quarterfinal round. PDS went on to fall 4-0 at third-seeded St. Rose in a semifinal contest to finish the season at 3-16-1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Having gone winless as it headed into mid-October and not getting invited to the Mercer County Tournament due to its poor record, the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team underwent some soul-searching as it looked ahead to the homestretch of the season.

“We had a pretty big meeting around the time when we found out we didn’t make MCTs for the second year in a row,” said PDS head coach Brian Thomsen. “We talked to the boys a lot, about what we can do moving forward to make sure it is a meaningful experience the last three or four weeks.”

The Panthers responded by topping Nottingham 2-1 on October 18 to get their only regular season win and then produced an unlikely run to the semis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B Tournament.

Despite its record and losing two key stars, junior Todd Devin and senior Yaseen Mousa, late in the season, Thomsen was confident his team could do some damage in the Non-Public B competition after having battled a gauntlet of tough foes in its first Colonial Valley Conference campaign.

“You really look at their schedules and you say to yourself as a coach, they really haven’t been battle-tested while we have been battle-tested,” said Thomsen. “When you sit back and look at it, we had one of the toughest schedules in the state of New Jersey. You are not going to play a team in the Non-Public B that is going to come close to that in terms of the strength of schedule.”

Thomsen imparted that message to his players. “We talked about the same thing over and over, like ‘Hey, you guys have got an opportunity every year to play deep into November if you really want to,’” said Thomsen. “You could see at that turning point, you could start to see the seniors and how their mindset changes a little bit. They understand that it could be coming to an end real quickly for them. It is the ‘I don’t want the season to end’ type of mentality.”

Bringing that mentality into the first round of the Non-Public B tourney, the 10th-seeded Panthers routed seventh-seeded Gloucester Catholic 10-0.

“When we went down to Gloucester, we were up 5-0 into first 10 minutes of the game,” said Thomsen, who got three goals from senior Gyan Gautam in the victory with junior Hart Liu-Nowakoski contributing two goals and three assists. “At that point, the boys started to understand they could play and they were going to be able to compete.”

In the quarters, PDS had to play hard to overcome second-seeded Doane Academy 1-0 in double overtime.

“Doane was very, very competitive with us and we held strong throughout the whole game,” said Thomsen.

“They had a couple of guys up top and we ended up figuring out how to man-mark them. We just hung on for a long period of time and made the game as competitive as it was.”

After hanging in there through regulation, the Panthers broke through with an overtime goal by junior Penn von Zelowitz to advance to the semis.

“Once we got to overtime, I decided to move Penn from the center defensive midfield up to one of the forward spots,” said Thomsen. “I was thinking, ‘we have got to take a chance at some point here.’ We took our chance in overtime. Penn basically had a point blank opportunity to score right before he scored, which forced the corner kick to happen. Then on the corner kick, Penn got on the end of the play. It was great to watching them have an enjoyable moment after a difficult season.”

Von Zelowitz and Liu-Nowakoski formed a productive partnership down the stretch of the season.

“Once we moved Penn and Hart next to each other in that deep midfield role and we started playing a 5-3-2, we had those two guys as the anchor in the middle of the park,” explained Thomsen. “It allowed us to be a lot more competitive in games. Those guys were able to come compete. Hart and Penn’s relationship grew a little bit and they started battling for each other. That allowed Hart to go and do things, he had more confidence to go and play.”

In the semifinal contest at St. Rose, a short-handed and fatigued Panther squad was running on empty as it lost 4-0 to end the fall at 3-16-1.

“They just ran out of gas against St. Rose,” said Thomsen. “The three goals we gave up in the first half were all off of corner kicks.”

Although the Panthers didn’t achieve their goal of making a sectional final, Thomsen enjoyed the ride.

“It really is a testament to the character of the kids, it made the last three weeks of the season very enjoyable,” said Thomsen. “It didn’t matter if we won or lost the game, they would always come back to training the next day asking me what is next, coach. When you have that mentality, you kind of put the results out the window but you enjoy the process more and our training sessions and the team aspect of it. It became something that was fun to watch with the understanding that high school sports is not all about winning the state sectional and all of that stuff, it is about the brotherhood and the bonds you create with your teammates.”

The squad’s senior group played a key role in that process. “We had six seniors this year, you had Gyan and Yaseen who were a bigger part over the last three years of our success,” said Thomsen. “Sebastian [Rzeczycki] ended up becoming a good part of the core of the group. The other three guys (Samuel Elkin, Christian Escobar, and Jameson Reilly) supported the cause from there.”

Thomsen was proud of how Gautam finished his PDS career. “He was definitely moving at a different pace; we saw a different type of Gyan from October 18 to the end of the season,” said Thomsen. “Gyan had a really significant impact on our program the last three years. His NJSIAA playoff record is seven wins and three losses — it is something he should be proud of. The legacy of the program and the building blocks are there. Gyan’s hard work at the end of the year really helped guys.”

With younger guys getting some valuable experience and gaining confidence from the Non-Public run, Thomsen believes the program is in good shape.

“I think for us, we are going to be a lot more competitive from day one next year, we will be able to pluck off some wins here or there,” said Thomsen. “In the St. Rose game at the very end of the year, the only senior guys on the field for us that would have been starters were Gyan and Sebastian. Nine of the 11 starters were all guys that are going to be returning. I think that plays a huge role. It allows those guys to get all of the experience together this year. We had a system in place at the end of the year that they really bought into. I think we are going to continue it.”