(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: HAVING A BLAST: Princeton Day school Antoine Hoppenot blasts the ball in action last year. Senior co-captain Hoppenot has scored five goals in his last two games as PDS has gotten off to an encouraging 3-1 start. In upcoming action, the Panthers play at Peddie on September 19 before hosting Timothy Christian on September 25.

With Hoppenot Providing Leadership, PDS Boys' Soccer Team Makes Progress

Bill Alden

In the fall of 2004, Antoine Hoppenot struggled to make an impact as a freshman on the Princeton Day School boys' soccer team.

The pint-sized Hoppenot was often the smallest player on the field and he was prone to displays of temper as he got pushed around by the bigger, older players.

Benefitting from those hard lessons, the battle-hardened Hoppenot has grown into a force for PDS.

This fall, the senior co-captain will be providing scoring and leadership for the Panthers.

Last Saturday, he displayed those qualities along with some dazzling skill, scoring two goals to help PDS edge Ewing 2-1 as it improved to 2-1 on the season.

With a roster dotted with freshmen, Hoppenot knows that he has to set a positive tone. "It's different; you have everyone looking up to you," said Hoppenot, who produced a hat trick last Monday as PDS topped Timothy Christian 3-1 to move to 3-1.

"You have to make sure you are leading by example. It's almost like you are under a microscope; you have to make sure that everything you do is for the team. The young players are going to follow what you say."

Hoppenot is determined to help raise the level of the players around him.

"It's my senior year, not only do I want to help the team win but the better I play, the better the team will be," said Hoppenot. "My goal is to see how much better I can make my team. I want to help the younger players become better."

To that end, Hoppenot is developing a nice partnership with promising freshman striker Robby Smuckler.

"He is a good player," said Hoppenot of Smuckler. "As the season goes on, that should work well. He's still young but he's a very good player."

In the win over Ewing, Hoppenot set a good example with his persistence. "I had a couple of opportunities in the beginning of the game and on that one I just kicked it in the back of the net," recalled Hoppenot. "It was good; that was an important goal for us."

Things have come full circle for Hoppenot as he played with his older brother, Pierre, in 2004 and now he is playing with younger brother, Maxim, a freshman for PDS this fall.

"My older bother Pierre helped me when I was a freshman," said Hoppenot. "In my sophomore year, Asante Brooks helped me calm down and to just play soccer instead of worrying about anything else. I'm trying to help Maxim."

PDS head coach Malcolm Murphy sees Hoppenot as a big help to his side. "You have to pat Antoine on the back; he can really break down the opposition so well," asserted Murphy. "He really has brilliance in his feet."

Murphy would like to see Hoppenot fine-tune things after he has run through the opposition. "When he has the ball in front of the net, he has to have the mentality, the psyche of keeping his eyes open and knowing what the goalkeeper is looking to do," explained Murphy.

The young Panthers collectively have to develop a more cool-headed approach. "We're playing three or four freshmen," added Murphy.

"We're playing with an inexperienced team and it shows tactically. We're playing more of a high-pressure game rather than with a lot of composure on the ball. We're trying to get them to understand that in training but we've not been able to think out on the field during games."

While Murphy is satisfied with the team's record, he would like to see his players take better advantage of their chances. "I'm not really happy with the way we are playing right now," said Murphy, whose team plays at Peddie on September 19 before hosting Timothy Christian on September 25.

"I'd like us to go to a more comfortable, controlled game. When the opposition is pressing, there is no point in playing in your own box. If they are opening those counterattacking spots for you, that's when you have to accept it and take them."

Hoppenot, for his part, believes the team will hone its attacking as the season goes on. "They just have to get used to the pace of the game," said Hoppenot. "I'm sure we're going to get a lot better and work better as a team as we get into the prep games."

With Hoppenot setting the pace, PDS could be a handful by the time the Prep B tournament rolls around.

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