PUTTING IT TOGETHER: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Tessa Caputo, left, looks to unload the ball in recent action. Last Friday, junior star Caputo rallied five goals and two assists to help PDS edge Hun 16-14. The Panthers, who topped Somerville 12-8 last Saturday in improving to 3-2, host Allentown on April 20. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Tessa Caputo had a large ice pack wrapped around her right leg last Friday evening, but she was smiling through the pain after helping the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team edge Hun 16-14.

Having been unable to play when the local rivals met last year due to illness and Hun prevailed 10-6, PDS junior midfielder Caputo was thrilled to come up big as the Panthers avenged that defeat.

“Losing that game last year and watching that happen was devastating and I think that really fueled us today,” said Caputo, who tallied seven points on five goals and two assists in the win. “We were so excited for this game, we really wanted it. In the end, it came down to who wanted it more and I think we really wanted it.”

Fueling the PDS attack, Caputo scored two goals in the first 2:03 of the game as PDS jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

“We really got hyped up in the beginning of the game,” said Caputo. “We needed to come out strong and that is exactly what I was looking to do. I had the opportunities, so I went for it.”

The teams set a dizzying pace with goals coming in bunches as PDS forged ahead 12-10 at halftime.

“They are a really good team, they have some really great players,” said Caputo. “A lot of us play club with those girls. They are such an aggressive team; they really gave us a fight.”

Fighting through pain as her right leg was ailing, Caputo was determined to keep playing.

“I have a few injuries; we don’t have too many subs, so I have to push through it a little,” said Caputo.

With the Panthers clinging to a 15-14 lead in the waning moments of the contest, Caputo fired in an insurance goal to end the scoring.

“Having a one-goal lead with four minutes left in the game wasn’t enough,” said Caputo, whose final tally came with 1:37 left in regulation. “I had that opportunity, I feel confident with that shot, I do that every day in practice. I felt like that was a sure one, so I took it.”

Caputo saw the win over Hun as a confidence builder for a Panther squad that began the season by falling 18-17 to Blair Academy and 12-9 to Shore.

“We had a pretty rough start to the season,” said Caputo, who tallied five goals and an assist to help PDS defeat Somerville 12-8 last Saturday as it improved to 3-2. “We just needed a couple of wins under our belt and I think it is really going to be good.”

Having scored a team-high 32 points on 20 goals and 12 assists, Caputo is looking to be a more versatile weapon for the Panthers.

“I have definitely been stepping up to play some more mid and I am taking the draw this year,” said Caputo, who has committed to attend Fairfield University and play for its Division I women’s lax program. “I am normally a low attacker so being able to do that is really awesome.”

Forming a one-two punch with senior star Paige Gardner, a fellow Fairfield commit, has helped Caputo step up this spring.

“It is awesome working with Paige,” said Caputo. “I am going to be playing with Paige in college; I would say her being committed there was a pretty big factor in me committing there. Fairfield is such an amazing school and to be able to have another four years with my best friend is awesome.”

PDS head coach Tracy Young credited Caputo with sparking the Panthers against Hun.

“Tess is not normally a midfielder for us,” said Young. “Paige and Sophie [Jaffe] have been playing much more of our mid. Since they were two that were not feeling great, I had to go with Tess which benefitted us in the long run. She came out hot really quick.”

In Young’s view, the PDS attack was running too hot at times in the first half.

“I kept saying to them we don’t want to go back and forth; we needed to really get the ball on our end and settle it a little on attack,” said Young, who got six goals and two assists from Jaffe in the win over the Raiders with Gardner and Jesse Hollander each chipping in two goals and an assist. “We were really packed in the beginning and really needed to spread out and move the ball around. Our shot selection really took a dive so that was also a point of emphasis. I told them we really had to start thinking about taking smarter shots and taking care of the ball.”

Holding Hun to four goals in the second half, the Panther defense played smarter down the stretch.

“We were having trouble with the slides in the first half, so we really just emphasized with them that it was the second slide that they really needed to see,” said Young. “There were a couple of girls wide open in the middle in the first half that they kept hitting. We started to slide much better and we started to move better. We told them they were doing a lot of man watching and not really watching the ball and the field itself. Once they turned that around that really helped us get in position to really slow them down or at least be in their way and not give them a free shot at goal. Arden [Bogle] came up with some big saves in the end which really helped us too.”

With PDS having won three straight games, Young believes that the Panthers are showing the potential to match the postseason run last year that saw the program win both the Prep B state and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B titles.

“We just really have to work now on cleaning up the game, I think it can carry us to great places,” said Young, whose team hosts Allentown on April 20. “They really have to focus on taking care of the ball, not getting fouls, and not getting turnovers. I think I tallied 12 turnovers today for us. If we want to go as deep as we did last year, those are the things that we are going to have to clean up the most going forward and they can do it. They are skilled players; they are strong players. We have had two out with concussions, we have had kids out sick, so we just need to get everybody healthy and keep everybody healthy. I think that will be the difference-maker for us moving forward.”

Caputo, for her part, feels that PDS is moving in the right direction.

“We have some underclassmen that are stepping up in a great role,” said Caputo. “Shelby [Ruf] today did amazing. Arden made some big saves. Everybody has to step up, and I think we have really done a great job of that.”