FINE AND DANDY: Sammy Dandy goes after the ball in action this fall for the Princeton Day School field hockey team. Sophomore Dandy, who led the Panthers in scoring in 2024 with five goals, has brought her finishing touch to the ice for the PDS girls’ hockey team. Dandy has piled up six goals to pace the Panthers as they have produced a 3-0-1 start. PDS, which defeated defending New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) state champion Pingry 7-3 last Thursday, hosts Immaculate Heart on January 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Sammy Dandy helped spark the offense this fall for the Princeton Day School field hockey team, emerging as the squad’s leading scorer with five goals.

This winter, sophomore star Dandy has brought her finishing touch to the ice for the PDS girls’ hockey team, piling up six goals to pace the Panthers as they have produced a 3-0-1 start.

For Dandy, juggling the two sports has helped her excel at both.

“They are definitely really similar; I was an ice hockey player before I was a field hockey player,” said Dandy. “It is easier to transition from one to the other since they are kind of the same. It definitely helps both ways.”

Last week, Dandy helped PDS overcome a 1-0 deficit against Trinity Hall, scoring two straight goals to give the Panthers the lead, and they never looked back on the way to a 4-1 win.

“In practice we usually screen the net and get off as many shots as possible to try to beat the goalie; that was what was going through my mind there,” said Dandy, reflecting on her first goal. “On the second goal it was the same kind of situation, just getting a shot on net, trying to get a rebound.”

Even though PDS is only playing with nine skaters with two players currently sidelined by injury, it was not fazed by falling behind early in the December 17 contest.

“We knew they were going to be strong, we knew they had more numbers than we did,” said Dandy. “We have good players on our team and we work well together. We just needed to pull through and get this win.”

Coming into this winter, defender Dandy was primed to assume more responsibility at the offensive end.

“I am trying to be more offensive this year, last year we had players like Logan Harrison,” said Dandy, who tallied two goals and an assist as PDS defeated defending New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) state champion Pingry 7-3 last Thursday. “I have definitely improved a lot since last year. My hockey IQ has improved. I am looking out for passes; it is a team sport. You have got to pass the puck.”

PDS head coach Jamie Davis liked the way his team battled back against Trinity Hall.

“We didn’t change anything about it,” said Davis, who also got goals from Della Gilligan and Layla Sosner in the win. “We were down 1-0. It is a hockey game, someone is going to score first. We did not give up. We pushed right back and we got four unanswered.”

The Panthers kept pushing as they controlled possession in the second and third periods.

“We started to really push the pace to keep it in their zone halfway through the game,” said Davis. “We probably could have gotten a couple of more goals but their goalie played great and they have some good players too. It was a good game.”

The Panthers got a very good game from Dandy as she excelled at both ends of the ice.

“Sammy is a great player, she can take a game over when she chooses,” said Davis. “It is nice to have someone back there who can block plays down in our defensive zone and also create a lot of offense.”

Davis credited junior goalie Kelly Stevens with being in the zone.

“Kelly has been great,” said Davis. “She is locked in. She likes to compete, she works hard. It was a very good game for her.”

Supporting Stevens, PDS produced a solid defensive effort overall.

“Our centers and D did a great job of just keeping the play to the outside,” said Davis. “We kept it down at their end most of the time, that is how you win a hockey game. It was all-around great play.”

As the Panthers head into the holiday break before returning to action by hosting Immaculate Heart on January 7, Davis is proud of how his short-handed squad has persevered and succeeded so far this season.

“I am happy that they are working hard, we are not getting rattled by having a small bench,” said Davis, whose team is currently without senior Eibhleann Knox and Dandy’s older sister, junior Brynn, due to injury. “It is keep rolling. It is a lot of ice time. They are high school kids, they have energy they don’t think they do but they do. They are going good but we will need our players back. It is a long season.”

Dandy, for her part, is thrilled with how things have come together early on.

“I am really happy with the way we have started, playing Mo-Beard and tying them was huge for us,” said Dandy, referring to a 1-1 opening game tie with perennial powerhouse Morristown-Beard. “Sometimes it takes us a while to get going since we have such low numbers. Usually one or two people on the team really step up and say, ‘Hey guys, we know what to do’ and just execute it.”