HOPEWELL TWP. — When the Princeton High boys lacrosse team huddled for its first Saturday practice — an indoor conditioning workout — the Tigers wrote down their goals for the season on a piece of paper.
“Number one goal on that list: to win a county championship,” junior attackman Braden Barlag said. “Hopefully we can get that done Thursday night.”
Third-seeded Princeton cemented its spot in the Mercer County Tournament final by pulling away from second-seeded Lawrenceville B for a 19-11 victory in Tuesday’s semifinals at Ackerson Field.
Flashing the offensive firepower that they have wielded all spring, the Tigers (19-11) traded the lead three times with the Big Red (8-3) in the first half before surging in the second half with 10 more goals coupled with stingy play by the defense.
“Our defense really clutched up in the second half only letting in three,” Barlag said. “We got some key faceoffs there in the fourth, and we were able to move the ball around a lot and go in transition. It worked out well for us.”
Barlag led all scorers with seven goals, Patrick Kenah had five, Brendan Beatty had four, Alex Famiglietti had two, and Robbie Sifon scored the other. Beatty also had four assists, while Famigletti had three and Jason Singer assisted once.
Clinging to a 9-8 lead entering the third quarter, Princeton seized control with longer possessions and scored five of the ensuing six goals over the next 11:13.
“Honestly, quicker ball movement results in more goals,” Barlag said. “In the first quarter even though we scored five, our off-ball movement was lacking, and that kind of showed once we started turning the ball over and then it started getting to an even game. And then we started getting off-ball movement and then that started clicking for us, and then we just went from there.”
Finn Morgan and Malcolm Richardson netted three goals apiece for Lawrenceville B. Mateo Sala had two, while Colt Lumpris, Charley Callen and Hayes Card each had one. Sala had three assists, Shea Mulhern and Morgan had two, and Card and Richardson had one.
“We struggled with some groundballs and clearing and faceoffs, and I think that was the difference,” Lawrenceville B head coach Rob Siris said. “But we knew they had a very good offense. Sometimes you kind of get some breaks with GBs and clears and faceoffs, and those fifty-fifty ones just didn’t go our way today.”
Despite Lawrenceville B not posting statistics online, Princeton head coach Chip Casto said the Tigers were able to gather enough film through Hudl to determine the Big Red’s key players and tendencies.
Princeton’s biggest adjustment was to play more zone defense in the second half.
“They were sticking it early, but when you play a zone long enough, you can learn these tendencies and you kind of shape your zone to their offense,” Princeton said. “They’ve got great sticks and great shooters and they just had a couple turnovers every once in a while. And whoever wins the faceoffs and the groundballs wins the game, and I think towards the end of the game we started winning the faceoffs and the groundballs.”
Siris also talked about the emotions of returning to Ackerson Field, where he coached Hopewell Valley from 2004-17.
He then founded the Mercer County Community College men’s lacrosse program, and after six years there, he stepped down and found a new home when Lawrenceville’s rich program decided to start a second varsity team.
“I told everybody ‘very bizarre,’” Siris said of being back at Hopewell. “Sometimes life throws twists and turns. A year ago this time, I wouldn’t never expected this to happen because I was still at Mercer, and then life takes you in different directions. So it was very surreal, the guys were very supportive of this, and I’m just really proud of them. It was a really good experience for year one, and I told them, ‘It’s a tough thing. We’re majority freshmen and we’re going against juniors and seniors,’ so I think it says a lot.”
The younger players unfortunately won’t have a chance to compete for the county title again next year, should they return to the B team, because the MCT is being dropped in favor of a CVC Tournament in all sports.
Siris said he is OK with that. One of the team’s goals was to win the MCT this spring, but the Big Red also wanted to have a positive lacrosse experience and develop the players to compete for national championships with the A team.
Casto, meanwhile, expressed disappointment that this will be the last edition of what he called “classic” semifinal matchups between two public schools and two prep schools. Princeton was awaiting the winner of top-seeded Hun and fifth-seeded Hopewell Valley in the nightcap.
“It’s a great tournament. I’m sad to see it go next year,” Casto said. “I hope we’re not the only county in the state that doesn’t have it, but such is life I guess. But it is exciting. The seniors wanted to win the game badly, and so they did a lot of the work out there. So it was great.”
Princeton (11-6) 5 4 5 5 – 19
Lawrenceville B (8-3) 2 6 2 1 – 11
Goals – Morgan 3, Richardson 3, Sala 2, Lumpris, Callen, Card (L), Barlag 7, Kenah 5, Beatty 4, Famiglietti 2, Sifon (P).
Assists – Sala 3, Morgan 2, Mulhern 2, Card, Richardson (L), Beatty 4, Famiglietti 3, Singer (P).
Shots – 18 (L), 35 (P),
Saves – Trowbridge 16 (L), Bragg 6, Kasziba (P).
