Senior captains Payton Rupp ’20 and Julia Gorajek ’20 were honored at the 26th annual Mercer 33 Girls Soccer Banquet held at Mercer Oaks. Each fall, Mercer County coaches pay tribute to 26 Colonial Valley Conference and 12 prep school players, plus two Spirit Award honorees.

"Payton Rupp is a dynamic and skilled player," said Peddie Head Coach Matt Roach in his remarks. "She is shifty and quick, and her ability to make defenders miss has led to clutch goals and assists throughout her Peddie career. Payton is a fierce competitor and a great teammate; she’s coachable and she always plays hard in practice. She’s also a brilliant student, and has been part of the all-MAPL academic team for the past two years."

About Gorajek, Roach shared, "Since stepping onto campus her freshman year, Julia Gorajek has started and played nearly every minute of every game at Peddie. She is athletic, competitive and tough, and she has anchored our team defense at center-back. She’s so clutch that she also scored five goals for us this year on penalties and corner kicks chances. Julia is truly a Peddie Girls Soccer legend, and one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached. Though she will play lacrosse at West Point next year, she could easily play soccer at that level as well."

"These two players have meant so much to our program over the last four years," said Roach. "Their careers include multiple MAPL titles—and they never lost two games within the league in the same year. More than wins and losses, however, these two set a high standard for athleticism, hard work and enthusiasm as part of our soccer culture."