Even though the Princeton High girls’ soccer team lost 4-1 to Hunterdon Central in late September, Zoe Tesone wasn’t fazed when the foes met for a rematch in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional quarterfinals last Friday.

“We watched the game film over and what we saw was that we could actually play against this team,” said PHS senior defender Tesone.

“We could pass it. We saw if we could keep our composure, we could move it around them. The whole mentality going in was put it all out on the field, do not let up.”

Letting up two early goals to top-seeded Hunterdon Central, eighth-seeded PHS cut the lead to 2-1 on a score by junior Devon Lis late in the first half. But the Red Devils answered with a tally to make it 3-1 at halftime and then scored two goals in the early stages of the second half to put the contest out of reach. The Little Tigers kept battling, though, as junior Colette Marciano found the back of the net with 5:53 remaining in regulation to make it a 5-2 final.

“The fact that we stayed in the game in the second half, I am just so proud of this team,” said Tesone. “Because of that, there was no negativity on the field.”

PHS stayed the course this fall, finding its form after losing its first three games to end up with a final record of 11-8.

“We had a rough start but we really figured it out with each player and what they have to bring,” said Tesone.

“It was a little hard at first but we finally clicked as a team. We got better with our touches and everything but it was as a team, we realized that we needed to be a close knit unit. It really showed in our South Brunswick game (a 4-1 win on November 1 in the first round of the sectional).”

As a team captain, Tesone assumed extra responsibility this season to help things click for the Little Tigers.

“My coach told me that as a captain, you are not always going to get that good job or that recognition and that will hurt,” said Tesone.

“But to see the people on the team doing their role and them knowing that I need them and they need me, that is all that matters. I saw that.”

PHS head coach Val Rodriguez knew that PHS was facing a very good team in Hunterdon Central.

“They are very strong everywhere on the field, they are fast, they are physical, very tactical and technically sound, and they move the ball well,” said Rodriguez.

“A 4-3-3 is tough to defend and also to build the attack on. They have three threatening forwards that you have to worry about all the time.”

The Little Tigers sensed that they could mount an attack on the Red Devils through set pieces.

“Corner kicks and our long throw-ins are the moments where we needed to be near perfect,” said Rodriguez.

“We got one that way and the second one came off of a play that started with a corner kick. Those were the opportunities that we were going to get our chances from after watching game film that we had of them.”

Overcoming its slow start this fall, PHS had moments of brilliance as it found a rhythm.

“We have 13 new people on varsity this season, we had a lot to learn about ourselves individually and as a team,” said Rodriguez.

“We started with the most difficult CVC schedule that we could have started with and went 0-3. The character that these girls showed went above and beyond any expectation. We pulled it together from a 0-3 start, to have a really successful CVC run. I am extremely happy that we got a tournament win in both tournaments, beating Hightstown in the MCT and the South Brunswick game was really good.”

Rodriguez credited Tesone with bringing character and skill to the field.

“Zoe is going to be very difficult to replace, both on the field and as a leader,” said Rodriguez.

“She is a top notch kid, she leads by example and people just want to do well for her. She controls that back really well for us and her air game is great, She had four goals for us from sweeper, she comes up in clutch situations.”

The team’s other seniors, Jackie Girouard, Gretchen Brown, and Celia Gleason, also set a good example.

“Jackie Girouard is off the back line, she is also going to be missed,” said Rodriguez.

“She is a good defender, she has that X factor where her role is defense but she knows when to make those runs and all of a sudden you will catch her playing up. We have two other seniors who stepped up as varsity players in Celia Gleason and Gretchen Brown.”

Going forward, Rodriguez believes that the team’s core of young players will be stepping up.

“In our freshman, sophomore, and junior class, we have a lot to be excited about,” maintained Rodriguez.

“We had five freshmen this year and they were all impact players. We had a strong JV program this year too. The future looks good with what we have coming back.”

Tesone, for her part, is leaving with a slew of good memories from her years with the PHS program.

“I loved it, I came in with two amazing captains, Eva Reyes and Dana Smith, and the rest of the seniors that year were wonderful,” said Tesone.

“I knew what I wanted to bring my senior year with them and others like Emily Pawlak, Shannon Pawlak, Haley Bodden, Gabbie Deitch, and Taylor Lis. They were amazing captains and amazing people. They were the ones I wanted to follow and it made my high school soccer career exactly what I wanted.”