The Colonial Valley Conference has overhauled its girls soccer divisions for the 2026 season, splitting eight programs into the Colonial Division and seven into the Valley Division based on overall program strength.
Among the shifts, Princeton Day School finds itself dropped from the Colonial to the Valley despite its girls’ team posting a 20‑1‑1 record last year, a move driven by combined boys’ and girls’ results and a young roster that lost 11 seniors.
Division realignment and its implications
West Windsor‑Plainsboro South, fresh off back‑to‑back Valley titles with a perfect 12‑0 mark, earns promotion to the Colonial, where it will face a tougher slate of opponents.
Allentown enters the Colonial as a favorite, returning nearly all starters from a 21‑4‑1 campaign and relying on Gabby Tate, who contributed 14 goals and nine assists as a freshman and will look to build on that production.
Steinert and Notre Dame are also expected to be competitive, with Steinert retaining top scorer Ava Prosdocodimo and Notre Dame pinning hopes on Elizabeth O’Mara to boost its offense.
Several Valley teams, including Hightstown and Trenton, will need to tighten defense and add firepower, while five schools have appointed new coaches, among them Christine Giacino at Princeton, who previously coached at Robbinsville and TCNJ.
Key individual storylines center on Ava Katz of PDS, who tallied 11 goals and 10 assists while operating both as a forward and a distributor, and on Riley Duguay of West Windsor‑Plainsboro South, the CVC Golden Boot winner with 22 goals as a sophomore.
The realignment aims to improve competitive balance and scheduling flexibility, but the conference’s gender‑based structure kept Princeton Day School in the Valley despite its girls’ dominance, setting up a season of adjustment for all involved.