(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) SURPRISE ATTACK: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Tyler Olsson races up the field last Wednesday in PDS’ 13-12 win at Hun. Junior attacker Olsson contributed a team-high three goals in the win, including a last-minute goal which helped the Panthers rally from a late 11-9 deficit. PDS, which fell to 3-2 with a 12-8 loss to Somerville last Friday, hosts Voorhees High on April 20 and Ranney School on April 26.

With Olsson Finding a Home on Attack Unit, PDS Boys’ Lacrosse Produces Promising Start

Bill Alden

Tyler Olsson has bounced back and forth between midfield and attack during his time with the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team.

But after scoring three goals and picking up an assist from the attack spot last Wednesday in a dramatic 13-12 win at Hun, it looks like junior star Olsson has found his home on the Panthers.

“I was put on attack today,” said Olsson. “It was a nice flow on attack; we were all playing really, really well together. Garrett [Jensen] played amazing today and so did Aaron [Shavel]. The ball was moving around.”

The Panthers got things moving from the opening faceoff against their crosstown rivals, jumping off to a 4-0 lead five minutes into the contest.

“We came out strong,” recalled Olsson, who had a goal and an assist during that opening stretch of the game. “We put a few in the net and it really boosted us. It helped us the whole game.”

That confidence came in handy as PDS saw an 8-6 halftime lead turn into an 11-9 deficit midway through the fourth quarter.

“We were fired up from the beginning and we were going to just keep going,” said Olsson. “We were not going to stop.”

Showing pluck and skill, the Panthers didn’t stop battling, scoring two straight goals to knot the game at 11-11 with three minutes remaining in regulation.

After a Hun tally, Olsson fired in a goal to tie the game at 12-12 with 58 seconds left. Mike Davila then culminated the rally, finding the back of the net 36 seconds later to give the Panthers the 13-12 win.

“We have been doing a lot of conditioning in practice; that really helped,” said Olsson, reflecting on PDS’ late comeback. “We just really believed. We thought we could pull it off and we did.”

PDS head coach Rob Tuckman was proud of the character his squad displayed in pulling out the victory.

“We have not fared well when we have gotten down and when we went down by two with three minutes left, it was a gut check,” said Tuckman, whose club was coming off a disappointing 13-2 loss to Robbinsville.

“Our guys stepped into it with a confidence I have not seen in a long time at PDS lacrosse. That’s where I am most pleased. Our kids believed they could do it. It wasn’t here we go again, it was I know how to get ourselves out of this.’

The Panthers’ play at both ends of the field was pleasing to Tuckman. “We had great looks; we played as a team today,” added Tuckman, who got two goals and four assists from Jensen in the win with Connor Bitterman, Cody Triolo, and Davila chipping in two goals apiece.

“Dan Reynolds had a big game on defense; he was playing against a D-1 player (Steffen Gratch). Zach Higgins was playing on Will Sweetland. It was a great effort all the way around.”

In Tuckman’s view, Olsson efforts at attack are bearing fruit. “Tyler is a great player; we have settled him in at attack,” said Tuckman.

“He is starting to recognize how to play that position which is something he has not known throughout. He has learned and that is important.”

While Tuckman was thrilled with the win over Hun, he knows that there is a long way to go this spring

“It is all about postseason play,” asserted Tuckman, whose team hosts Voorhees High on April 20 and Ranney School on April 26.

“I love the fact that we are 3-1 but I can’t focus further ahead than Friday night and the next game.”

Olsson, for his part, believes that the Panthers could do some damage when they get to postseason play.

“This could be a special season,” maintained Olsson. “We have a really, really good roster. We have a really good goaltender in Peter Blackburn and our defense has really stepped it up.”

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