VALUE ADDED: Princeton Day School field hockey player Val Radvany, left, controls the ball in recent action. Last Monday, junior star midfielder Radvany helped PDS defeat Pennington 4-0. The Panthers, now 6-3, host the Hill School (Pa.) on October 4 before playing at Hopewell Valley on October 7 and at Springside-Chestnut Hill (Pa.) on October 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Hosting Lawrenceville last Thursday in a rematch of the 2016 Mercer County tournament final, the Princeton Day School field hockey dug an early 2-0 hole.

But PDS, which fell 3-0 to Lawrenceville in that MCT showdown last fall, didn’t fold.

“We had a lot of energy,” said PDS star junior midfielder Val Radvany.

“We came out really strong and even when they scored two goals, we still kept going.”

The Panthers got a goal on a penalty stroke by Sasha Sindhwani to make it a 2-1 game at halftime. “It was really close; we had the momentum,” said Radvany.

But Lawrenceville regained the momentum in a hurry, tallying three goals in the first five minutes of the second half.

“I think in the first five minutes of the second half we got caught off guard,” said Radvany. “Getting down four goals, it is so hard to claw back from that.”

While that stretch of the game proved decisive as Lawrenceville prevailed 5-1, the Panthers kept clawing.

“I am really proud of our team and how we fought; we still kept going,” said Radvany

“That is much better than just rolling over, saying we are down 5-1 and just let them score five more goals.”

While Radvany was disappointed by the outcome, she believes the defeat to the Big Red could be a blessing in disguise.

“This was good practice for us, they are one of the top teams, if not the top team, in the county,” said Radvany, who helped PDS defeat Pennington 4-0 last Monday as the Panthers improved to 6-3. “This is a really good game to see where we are and how we can improve.”

In Radvany’s view, PDS needs to improve on its finishing. “We got so many shots and so many rebounds, we could not put the ball in the net,” said Radvany.

“We need to go and get the second, third shots, and the rebound and really score.”

Working hard over the years, honing her skills with the Princeton Field Hockey Club program, Radvany has put herself in position to play at the next level.

“I have grown a lot as a player, I think I have improved a lot; I am able to really control the midfield,” said Radvany, who recently committed to attend Michigan State and play for its field hockey program.

“I am happy where I am to be a leader in the midfield and really help everyone play as a team.”

PDS head coach Heather Farlow liked the way her team performed against Lawrenceville, notwithstanding the margin of defeat.

“We just told them that we were very happy with where we are at this point in September,” said Farlow.

“There are some things that we have to shore up; there are some things that we need to capitalize on that we are good at. I don’t think the score reflects how hard we worked; we came in with nothing to lose. We have lost to them before and we said so what, just play hard, play to win, have fun, and just play as a team. I think we did that. The first five minutes of the second half made a difference.”

Farlow was impressed by how PDS kept playing hard to the final whistle.

“To control the ball the last 10 minutes of the game and have it in our attacking end speaks volumes; we kept fighting,” said Farlow, whose team generated several penalty corners in the waning moments of the contest.

“You can’t ask for better play than that out of the girls. After playing Lawrenceville, I think we can be competitive in the MCTs again.”

In Radvany’s view, the Panthers can be a force in postseason play.

“I think what we need to work on is to play a full 60 minutes; we can’t have lapses,” said Radvany.

“We have so much potential to win. Hopefully we will see them again in the Mercer County final and hopefully we can eventually beat them.”