FIRING AWAY: Princeton Day School boys’ soccer goalie Oren Yakoby fires the ball up the field in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, senior Yakoby starred in a losing cause, making eight saves as PDS fell 2-0 to Lawrenceville. The Panthers, who moved to 3-7 with the loss, host Trenton Central on October 10 and Allentown on October 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Hosting rival Lawrenceville last Friday afternoon, the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team got off to a solid start.

Buoyed by a throng on hand at Baker Field for the school’s Fall Tailgate, PDS had the better of play against the Big Red in the early stages of the contest, gaining plenty of possession and generating chances.

“It is the same story every game, no matter who we play; the first 20 minutes we play really good soccer, we play better soccer than the opponent,” said Panther head coach Gary Roberts. “Todd [Devin] was dangerous, he had a good hit that the keeper made a good save on. One of our players missed an open net.”

But failing to cash in its chances, the Panthers found themselves down 1-0 at halftime as Lawrenceville scored a goal against the run of play. In the second half, PDS was under the gun as the Big Red dominated possession and added a goal with 22:06 left in regulation to earn a 2-0 victory.

Panther senior goalie Oren Yakoby credited the Panther defense with keeping the game tight.

“They did amazing, they did great,” said Yakoby. “We just need to finish.”

Yakoby did some good things against the Big Red, making several saves in the second half showing the progress he has made in his second season in a starting role.

“I started my first game last year,” said Yakoby, who ended up with eight saves in the loss. “I have just been doing my job pretty much this year.”

Roberts liked the way Yakoby did his job last Friday. “He is a good shot stopper, he has got good feet,” said Roberts. “Sometimes he struggles when to come off his line, he did OK with that today.”

The PDS defense produced a good effort as well. “They didn’t really break us down, our back line held it together,” said Roberts, whose team dropped to 3-7 with the defeat. “It is not like we are giving up goals.”

Over the course of the fall, the squad’s group of freshmen have been getting it together.

“Four freshmen started in that game and seven played, it is a great sign for the future,” said Roberts. “I don’t think any of them played less than 10 or 15 minutes. Our center back, Grant Burns, is a freshman.

Our attacking center mid, Mathias Ramos, is a freshman. Our right back, Robert Wei, played almost the whole game. He got in great spots early in the game. Aiden Luciano has been spectacular in the back. He has been significantly improved over the last two weeks. We have tons of freshmen playing, the future is bright.”

Roberts acknowledged that his younger players have gotten outmatched physically at times.

“We run out of steam, I think the physicality of the game kills some of our younger bodies,” said Roberts. “Even though they might be in lung shape, you still get tired by getting bounced around.”

With PDS hosting Trenton Central on October 10 and Allentown on October 15, Roberts is looking for his squad to be sharper in converting scoring chances.

“We need composure in front of the goal, they need to believe in themselves,” said Roberts. “They have to envision the ball going in the net. Maybe we will spend all day Monday shooting which we do a decent amount. Our patterns of play are good. We get the ball in the right spots, we get the ball on the right people’s feet.”

Yakoby, for his part, believes that getting a breakthrough win could get the Panthers on the right track.

“I think we need a good upset and then we will be back in it,” said Yakoby.