STEPPING UP: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer player Aislynn Macco, right, goes after the ball in recent action. Last Monday, sophomore midfielder Macco tallied a goal with 25 seconds left in regulation to help top-seeded PDS rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat fifth-seeded Montclair Kimberley 2-1 in the state Prep B semis. The Panthers, now 15-3-1, will host third-seeded Newark Academy in the Prep B title game on November 1 as they go for their sixth straight Prep crown. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

After his Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team edged Princeton High 2-1 in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals to follow up a regular season win over the crosstown rival, Pat Trombetta noted how tough it is to beat a good foe twice in the same campaign.

PDS faced the same situation in the MCT semis when the second-seeded Panthers took on a third-seeded Pennington School team it had defeated 3-1 on September 19 during regular season play.

In the rematch, a fired-up Pennington squad put the pressure on from the opening whistle, jumping out to a 1-0 halftime lead.

“In the first half, they were all over us,” said PDS head coach Trombetta.

“They came out and they smothered us. We couldn’t create anything at all in the first half.”

The Panthers created more offense in the second half but couldn’t break through and Pennington added a late goal to secure a 2-0 victory.

“In the second half, we were a whole different team. I thought we started winning 50/50 balls. We created opportunities,” said Trombetta.

“The girls played hard. We had a couple of good opportunities in the front of the net. The thing that I am proud of is that these girls never stopped, they believe in themselves and they never stop.”

Assessing his team’s effort, Trombetta saw good things in the defensive end and midfield.

“I thought our defense played well in the second half, in the first half they played on their heels a little bit,” said Trombetta.

“We weren’t as aggressive in the first half as we were in the second half. The midfield played very well in the second; Jules Romano did a good job there. We made an adjustment and we put Grace Romano up top to try to stretch the field a little bit and I thought she did a good job with that.”

While Trombetta was disappointed by the result against Pennington, he is proud that the Panthers were once again in the mix for a title.

“If you look at it, we have made the final four here in five of the last seven years,” said Trombetta.

“Obviously we would have liked to make it to the finals this year. We lost to a very good team. We can’t hang our heads based on our effort. It is bitter to swallow this but I think we will regroup and get ready for the preps.”

On Monday, PDS did regroup in the state Prep B semis as the top-seeded Panthers defeated fifth-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy 2-1 in dramatic fashion, rallying from a 1-0 halftime deficit on goals by Brianna Astbury and Aislynn Macco.

With the PDS, now 15-3-1, having won five straight Prep B titles, the squad is determined to keep that streak going as it hosts third-seeded Newark Academy in the title game on November 1.

“The seniors know that the past couple senior groups have won a championship all four years,” said Trombetta. “They definitely have that as one of their goals to try to finish out on top.”