LEADING THE WAY: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer player Abby Atkeson runs through a drill at a recent practice. Senior captain Atkeson will be counted on to provide gritty play in the midfield this fall for the Panthers, who have won two straight state Prep B titles. PDS is slated to open its 2016 campaign by hosting WW/P-S on September 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Over the last few years, the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team has provided living proof of the adage that defense wins championships.

In 2013, PDS won the Mercer County Tournament, posting a 2-0 shutout against Hopewell Valley in the title game. A year later, the Panthers edged Morristown-Beard 1-0 in the state Prep B championship game. Last November, PDS won a second straight Prep B crown, outlasting Montclair-Kimberly 1-0 in an overtime thriller in the championship game to secure the title.

As Panther head coach Pat Trombetta looks ahead to the 2016 season, he is confident his squad will be stingy once again.

“We are excited about the start of the season, it is a very hardworking group, defensively that is the foundation of our team,” said Trombetta, who guided the Panthers to a 17-2-1 record last fall.

The foundation of the defense will be a pair of junior stars, Princeton University-bound goalie Grace Barbara and defender Madison Coyne, a George Washington University commit.

“Grace is one of the most gifted keepers in the area,” asserted Trombetta of Barbara, who helped her club team, the PDA Gunners, win the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) U16 national championship this summer.

“Madison Coyne is one of the strongest defenders around. We have two very strong players in the back. To me, it is like having extra coaches on the field. They are communicative, they are positive, they keep the team organized. Having them in the back is going to keep us in most games.”

Two returning stalwarts, junior Rebecca Kuzmicz and senior Emily Simons, will join Barbara and Coyne on the back line along with sophomore Charlotte Meyercord and freshman Tulsi Pari.

“Pari is going to see a lot of time as a wingback and Charlotte Meyercord is probably going to wind up taking over for her sister Isabelle on the outside,” said Trombetta, noting that Kuzmicz and Simons have been playing well in the preseason. “Those two are going to do some good things for us.”

With star midfielder Hannah Bunce transferring to Hun after scoring 18 goals last fall, including the game-winner in the Prep B title game, PHS will need the trio of junior Damali Simon-Ponte, sophomore Madison McCaw, and senior Abby Atkeson to do some big things in the middle of the pitch.

“Damali looks good; she is a player who we will move around a little bit, whether it is up top or outside so she is going to give us a lot of quality minutes,” said Trombetta, who will also use junior Ann Xu, sophomore Kelsey Lane, freshman Brianna Astbury, and sophomore Isabel Hogshire at midfield.

“Madison is going to be playing at an attacking mid and she is probably going to be our playmaker. Abby is going to play the defensive mid spot; she has got an engine that doesn’t stop. She is a physical player and wins most of the 50/50 balls. She is one of the most fit players on the team and she is our only captain this year.”

At forward, Trombetta will be utilizing the combination of senior Allison Klei, sophomore Brooke Smukler, and freshman Ariana Jones.

“I am hoping Allison will have a big year, unfortunately the last couple of years she has missed a lot of time with injuries,” said Trombetta.

“We are looking at Smukler to step up; I think a year under her belt has done well for her. She has a good work rate and we hope that results in some more goals for her this year. Ariana is going to see time up there.”

If PDS is going to keep its title streak alive, it is going to need to generate some goals to go with its tough defense.

“To me, the defense is going to keep us in every game,” said Trombetta.

“We have got to find out who is going to be our scorers; we might be scoring by committee. The critical point of how deep we go in the tournaments is our scoring success.”