By Bill Alden

For Makena Graham and her teammates on the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team, hosting Princeton High last Saturday in the opening round of the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament was an opportunity to turn the page on an uneven campaign.

“We have had a rough start to the season so we all said today is a reset, today nothing else matters,” said Graham of the Panthers who had gone 1-5 in their previous six games before the CVC opener.

“It didn’t matter that we beat them before (2-0 on September 24). Our record didn’t matter. It was come in like a new team. We were going to possess, we were going to play our way. We weren’t going to panic.”

Seventh-seeded PDS played its game, jumping out to a 1-0 lead over 10th-seeded PHS on a goal by Nica Martin.

“We had momentum,” said Graham. “We had to keep going after that.”

Graham got things going in the second half, racing down the sideline and then setting up Mackenzie Brodel for a goal, slotting a cross to her that she tapped into the back of the net.

“It was amazing,” said Graham, reflecting on the goal. “I was able to get into the right space and they were able to find me. That was only because the possession was so good from behind. The team did an amazing job there.”

Minutes later, Graham got loose again on the wing, sprinting to goal and blasting the ball past PHS goalie Julia Zaladrriaga.

“Coach was talking to me before cutting off the defender and taking a positive touch,” said Graham. “That was what I was really trying to tell myself. That was the only reason I was able to get that third goal.”

That third goal turned out to be the game winner as the Tigers responded with two unanswered goals by Kacey Howes to put the Panthers on their heels before succumbing as PDS held on for a 3-2 win.

“I was really nervous, it got a little frantic,” said Graham. “We don’t want to go into overtime, we need to end this here. Everyone was so tired.”

PDS, though, couldn’t keep its CVC run going as it fell 4-1 to second-seeded Notre Dame in a quarterfinal contest last Monday in moving to 7-8-1.

While the Panthers didn’t advance, Graham has taken her game to a higher level.

“I think I am more of a team player now,” said Graham. “At first when you are a freshman, you are so distracted with school and all of the headlines. Now I am playing through the team, being together and enjoying that.”

Graham is enjoying having her younger sister, junior defender Zuri, as a teammate.

“I love playing with my sister,” said Graham. “It has been great being on the field together. It is so fun.”

PDS head coach Chris Pettit was looking for his squad to play with a renewed intensity against PHS.

“That is what we talked about, ‘OK, at this point we haven’t lost a trophy, the season starts here,’” said Pettit. “These are the games that really count. I think everybody would admit and know that we have not hit the standards this year for many different reasons. So today was about it is a whole new tournament and everything else is water under the bridge at this point. We need to focus on ourselves.”

PDS displayed a sharper focus as they took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

“It was good for us to get a lead because obviously when you have had a run of a couple of losses if you concede first then you start to look uphill a little more,” said Pettit. “If you score first, you are, ‘OK maybe we can do this.’”

While Pettit was happy to see his team jump ahead, he urged his players to push harder.

“We spoke at halftime; they were bigger and stronger than us and they were beating us to all of the first balls,” said Pettit. “I said if we are not going to beat them to the first balls, we have got to win the second.”

That approach opened things up for Graham. “I thought for that opening 25 minutes, we won every second ball and from there we moved it around quickly, we played position,” said Pettit. “We were able to release Makena which is how we wanted to play for her. It worked perfectly and she obviously did what she did which was phenomenal. She is fast and we have been working with her on that first touch to come in and do what she did. It is enter the space, the space is her friend, and then look to either pull it back to the assist for Mac or take it through for the goal.”

PHS took it to the Panthers in the final, as Howes scored a goal with 16:15 in regulation and then adding a second tally two minutes later.

“They have a couple of really dangerous players, and we as coaches, just before they scored their first goal, commented that they were starting to win the second balls,” said Pettit. “That is where the kid hit the goal from a long way out. As soon as that happens, they grow in confidence and we tighten up a bit. From that point on, all of the good work we had been doing for that first 25 minutes in terms of composed possession on the ball, their tails were up and we started panicking. It was basically backs to the wall until we closed it out.”

Although things got dicey in the waning moments of the contest, PDS was able to close the deal.

“I wasn’t happy with the second goal, we gave it away,” added Pettit. “I was very happy with our grit and determination, however ugly it is, we just have to get it over the line at this point.”

With PDS playing at the Pennington School on October 25 and hosting Hightstown on October 30 before starting play in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Tournament, Pettit believes his squad can produce a big stretch run.

“I think we have had the potential all season, that opening 25 minutes of the second half shows what we are about,” said Pettit, whose team won the NJSIAA Non-Public A title last fall.

“It is, ‘Can we build on that and do it consistently because if we can, we have a chance of making a run.’ As we have also proven this year, it has been hard to do that.”

Graham, for her part, is looking to end her PDS career with a bang.

“I want this to be the best last season and put it all out there, because there is nothing left for me next year,” said Graham.