By: Justin Feil
When Brian Cohen first saw the bracket for the New Jersey state boys’ lacrosse tournament, he couldn’t help but to think beyond the Little Tigers’ first game.
PHS had no history with 50th-seeded Camden Catholic, but down the road lay a path littered with teams with whom the Little Tigers are quite familiar.
"Immediately we saw it when we got the bracket," said Cohen, a PHS senior. "It was like, ‘Oh, we can play every team that we have revengeful-type feelings for.’"
Following a 16-0 shutout of Camden Catholic on Tuesday, PHS put itself in position for the first step in what could be quite an interesting ride. The 15th-seeded Little Tigers will host 18th-seeded Hunterdon Central 3:45 p.m. today. Hunterdon Central defeated PHS, 6-5, last Monday.
"It was a battle of defenses," said Cohen of the game in which the Red Devils held PHS scoreless for the final six minutes of the game. "They have a pretty strong defense too."
PHS is hoping a similar defensive effort and more effective offense will result in a win this time, a win that would likely put them up against No. 2 seed Mountain Lakes, which ended the state tournament for PHS last season with an 11-6 defeat.
A win there could put them up against West Windsor-Plainsboro North, the only Bianchi Division team to beat the Little Tigers. But first things first, and that means a chance for revenge against Hunterdon Central.
"We’re excited that we have the opportunity to play them again," said PHS head coach Peter Stanton after his team improved to 13-4 Tuesday. "We would have preferred that it be farther down the road, but it’s now. It’s a team we have a lot of respect for and I think they respect us.
"As much as we controlled the tempo and outshot them, 41-19, and would like to do that again, I’m sure that their coaches are looking at things they could do better. We did play well at both ends. Their goalie came up big. Even though we took a lot of shots, we could generate better scoring opportunities. I’m very satisfied with how we played at the defensive end and we’ll have to do that again."
Cohen was part of the Little Tiger defense that held Hunterdon Central in check for all but the final five minutes, 43 seconds when the Red Devils got two goals to win it after PHS led, 5-4.
"Their offense wasn’t that much of a threat to go to goal," Cohen said. "They were mostly role players. We have Bennett (Murphy, who had three goals in the teams’ first meeting) and James (Kadar, of Cranbury), who when they get the ball, they create. They didn’t have any one leader. They just moved the ball around and they scored off of cuts from the midfielders."
This time, PHS’ midfield defenders will be ready for that wrinkle. With a veteran defense that includes Cohen and two other senior close defenders along with goalie Chris Lalli of Cranbury, the Little Tigers have made it hard for teams to score on them this year. They lost just one defensive starter from a year ago. Add in the fact that PHS has taken a deliberate approach on offense, and it’s a tough formula to crack.
"It’s been our game plan," Stanton said. "Be patient and work for good shots and give the defense some rest. We take advantage of Chris being in goal and if we can shorten the game, we feel good about ourselves."

