(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) JACK OF ALL TRADES: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer player Jacqui Stevens dribbles the ball in a game earlier this fall. The senior co-captain has shown her versatility this season, starring at both outside midfield and forward. Last Wednesday, Steven assisted on the game-winning goal as PDS edged Hill 2-1. The Panthers, now 8-3-1, have a game at the Lawrenceville School on October 21 before starting play in the Mercer County Tournament on October 23.

With Energetic Stevens Providing Versatility, PDS Girls’ Soccer Primed for Stretch Drive

Bill Alden

Jacqui Stevens was able to laugh about it afterwards but it wasn’t funny at the time.

With the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team trailing Hill 1-0 midway through the second half last Wednesday, PDS senior star Stevens squandered a golden opportunity to tie the contest when she took a ball inside the box and booted it well over the net and the trees behind the goal.

“Apparently my depth perception is off,” said Stevens with a chuckle as she reflected on her misfire. “Down there I get a little bit of happy feet.”

After PDS tied the game at 1-1, Stevens used her feet to make the Panthers happy in the last minute of regulation as she slotted a ball to junior forward Janie Smukler who proceeded to knock it home for the game-winner in a 2-1 victory.

“There was a minute left and I thought we’ve got to get this in,” recalled Stevens. “I looked for Janie in the open center and she knows what to do.”

The Panthers knew they had to pick things up if they were going to overcome the 1-0 deficit to Hill.

“During halftime, we focus on what we need to improve on,” said Stevens. “So we focused on getting balls in the air and looking up for the open player and not just booting the ball. I think when we started the second half, we came in with a new intensity and we were really able to pull through our whole team. We really wanted it.”

As the half unfolded, Stevens could sense the tide turning PDS’s way. “I felt like we really deserved it,” said Stevens. “We were playing well; we were possessing. It was good that we finally had the outcome.”

Co-captain Stevens will do whatever the team needs to help positively influence the outcome in PDS’s favor. She started the season as an outside midfielder but has moved up to forward at times in recent action in order to give the team’s offense a spark.

“I love the outside running up and down,” said Stevens. “I try and keep the energy going wherever I am on the field. I certainly talk a lot.”

PDS head coach Pat Trombetta likes putting Stevens at different spots on the field.

“We are trying to get her into the attack up top,” said Trombetta. “We have switched her from outside to inside because she is a versatile player. She had a couple of opportunities there today so I wanted to put her at third forward when we switched formations and she contributed with the assist on the game winner.”

It was not surprising for Trombetta to see Smukler tally the game winner.

“We talked to Janie about staying in the middle and then just turning and pulling the trigger because she has a great shot,” explained Trombetta of Smukler who netted three more goals last Saturday as PDS beat Nottingham 4-1 to improve to 8-3-1.

“She finds the shooting lanes and has a great foot. That was a perfectly placed shot.”

Senior defender Laila Razzaghi has given the Panthers some great work along the back line.

“Laila has got a cannon of a foot; she takes most of our corner kicks and free kicks,” added Trombetta. “In the back, she is talented with the ball at her feet. She knows how to possess that ball and when to clear it. She makes some good decisions back there.”

In the win over Hill, Kelsey Scarlett made some good passes. “We worked on crossing and finishing in practice yesterday and Kelsey had a couple of beautiful crosses today,” said Trombetta, whose team has a game at the Lawrenceville School on October 21 before starting play in the Mercer County Tournament on October 23.

In Trombetta’s view, the Hill victory could help spark PDS to a big finish as it heads into tournament play.

“It is a great win for us; we know that the seeds for both the county and state are coming out,” said Trombetta, noting that Hill brought an eight-game winning streak into the contest and had outscored its foes 32-6 on the season.

“We needed a win like this against a talented team. We were flat against Peddie last week in a 2-0 loss. Hill went out and beat Peddie on Friday so we knew that we had our work cut out for us today. The girls played really well.”

Stevens, for her part, believes PDS will benefit from playing tough competition like Hill.

“We did have a couple of tough games and we didn’t have the results that we think we should have gotten,” said Stevens. “We are trying to play harder teams. It is good to match up against these tougher teams. We are doing well.”

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