Adams, PDS have look of contender

Panthers top South in Bianchi test

By: Justin Feil
   The Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team has been an underdog for much of Stephen Adams’ career, but in his final season that role has changed.
   The Panthers always challenge, year in and year out despite their skill level. There were whispers from this preseason that this Panthers group had the maturity and the skills to win the Bianchi Division.
   Led by Adams’ six goals, PDS took its first step in that direction by beating West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 10-9, Friday in both team’s Bianchi opener.
   "We’ve been close with West Windsor every game," said Adams, who has a team-high 10 goals. "Last year, we won by one goal. The Bianchi is definitely a tough division. Any one team could take it away.
   "It gets us off on a good track in the Bianchi," he added of the win. "It lets people know we have a good team. And it gives us more motivation by showing what we have to work on to win."
   About the only thing the Panthers could be disappointed with was allowing the Pirates back into the game after stretching a 5-3 halftime lead to 9-4 by the end of the third quarter. There was nothing disappointing about the start and success they had in holding off a feisty Pirates crew.
   "We were motivated. If we don’t come out ready to play and excited, it’s hard to win," Adams said. "Today, we showed that. We dominated the whole game until the fourth quarter. We kind of relaxed."
   It made for a tense final minute and a half but the Pirates never could tie the game up as they fell to 2-1. Most importantly, they put themselves in a hole in the Bianchi. It’s a year that doesn’t seem to have one dominant squad.
   "That team, they played hard," said PDS head coach Pete Higgins of WW-P South. "In the Bianchi, everyone is worrying about everyone else. Hun beat Peddie. All the teams are good. The Bianchi is the best it’s ever been. I thought it was huge to get out of the gate like this."
   PDS improved to 3-1 and gave those pre-season whispers credibility. Adams, for one, agrees this could be the Panthers’ year.
   "My freshman year, we had only three big senior starters who were good," said the midfield. "I think we had five or six starting freshmen. All those freshmen have grown up and are seniors now. We have a lot of talent. It’s just a matter of whether we have the drive."
   The drive was there Friday in sharp contrast to how the Panthers played in their only loss, an 8-2 defeat at the hands of Morristown-Beard on Tuesday.
   "A lot of little things happened," Adams explained. "Our offense didn’t move the ball as well as it should have. I don’t want to use it as an excuse, but I used four sticks. I broke two sticks and my back-up stick, a string broke. It was a hectic game. They’re a good team. We stuck with them for the first half, but we didn’t continue to play. In the second quarter, they got four goals. We played well in the fourth quarter.
   "The big difference from this to Mo-Beard, we had trouble with the basics. We had so many opportunities. We just dropped our passes. This game, we had so many fast breaks and scored on them."
   Often it was a combination of David Blitzer winning a face-off for the Panthers, then Pat Briody finding Adams for a score. Briody finished with five assists for PDS, which found its stride in a 4-1 third-quarter edge.
   "Blitzer got us some big face-offs in the third," Higgins said. "We really got going. Stephen had a tremendous game. And Briody did a great job of getting him the ball."
   The Panthers were effective offensively from the start, and strong in the midfield and defensively. They also got 11 saves from Oliver Burton.
   "It really was a nice team effort," Higgins said. "To come out strong and beat a tough team like West Windsor, it’s good for us. It was a nice overall win. I expect this to happen with all our games in the Bianchi.
   "It’s going to be a dogfight. It’s going to be grueling and it’s going to be fun."
   Fun is just what Adams is looking for in his final scholastic season. Scoring six goals, something he’s never done in a regular-season game before, counts as fun. Winning is even more, especially with a talented group around him.
   "Pat and I worked well together," Adams said. "He used to play middie and he’s on attack now. He always sees the field well. He found me a couple times."
   PDS also got a pair of goals apiece from Fred Mittnacht and from Derek Mayer. Jon Lupo led the Pirates with two goals and three assists. They hope to start off quicker when they host Princeton High on Wednesday and play at Hun on Friday.
   "We were playing catch-up all game," said Pirates head coach Kerry Weigner. "It was like that last year. It came down to a last-second shot last year and it came down to a last-second shot this year, but we didn’t catch the ball.
   "We always talk about playing 48 minutes. We played for 12 minutes and they played for 36. PDS played great. We always talk about out-hustling, out-working, out-focusing the other team. They did all those things for 48 minutes. That’s a credit to Pete and his guys."
   Weigner is looking for more consistency out of his team. It’s been tough to build as the Pirates had to spread out their games to accommodate for school trips. They went a week after topping Notre Dame before playing winless Lawrence. It was difficult to step up to the level of PDS after those decisive victories, particularly when the team has had few chances to be together for practice.
   "There’s always something," Weigner said. "They’re missing practices or leaving early for this or that. When they can make the commitment, then we’ll start to see progress. Right now, we haven’t made that commitment yet."
   With a group that somewhat resembles the underdog PDS teams of the past, the Pirates need the practice time to work through some of their early concerns. With a few weeks of solid practice and some more game experience, they could come around.
   "We’ve had inconsistent catching and throwing," Weigner said. "We have a mixture of players who have played varsity the last two years and then we have guys who are in their first year and have only played a year."
   It showed as the Panthers — now with an experienced group of starters like Stephen Adams — handed them their first loss of the season and showed the sort of potential and effort it will take to win the Bianchi Division.