PHS lacrosse has "Wright" stuff
By: Bob Nuse
Joyce Jones hasn’t sent Sarah Wright to any specialists.
At least not yet. But the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse coach is convinced Wright sees things other players on the field simply don’t see.
"She sees the cage and she can put the ball between the pipes," Jones said of her junior attack player, who has scored 29 goals for the Little Tigers this season. "Her shots are always in the right place. She is a very relaxed player and you can see that when you watch her that she put the ball in just the right spot.
"She has the ability to see the goalie and the opening in the net and put her shot right there. She places the ball like she sees a lot of space."
So far this year, the net must seem wide open to Wright, who scored a team-high 47 goals last year and has already surpassed that total this season. Last week, she scored 15 goals in three games as the Little Tigers posted wins over Montgomery, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Ewing to keep their unbeaten record in tact.
The highlight of those wins was a 16-15 victory over a WW-P North team that had been undefeated. In that game, Wright scored seven goals, including the game-winner with just over three minutes left in the game.
Sarah Wright is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
"I have been seeing the field real well," said Wright, who had three goals in the win over Montgomery and five in the win over Ewing. "Rebecca Schild and I seem to feed real well off of one another. Most of my goals are coming from her assists. We’ve been playing together since freshman year and I think we have a connection."
That connection is one they didn’t get much of a chance to work on prior to the start of the season. Wright was out of action most of March with mononucleosis, getting clearance from her doctor to play just before the Little Tigers’ season opener.
"I had mono in the pre-season and we didn’t think I was going to be able to play until about half the season was over," Wright said. "But my doctor cleared me and I’ve been able to play since the first game of the year.
"Even when I could not play, I still spent a lot of time working on my stickwork and my shooting. I think I’ve actually been a lot better with my accuracy on my shots this year because of the time I got to spend working on my shot while I couldn’t do the other things in practice."
Since Wright plays for Tri-State Lacrosse in the summer, as well as the indoor league at Peddie in the fall and winter, it didn’t take her long to get into game condition. And her play has been just one factor in the 7-0 start Princeton took into Thursday’s scheduled game against Hopewell Valley.
"This is the furthest we’ve gone into the season undefeated that I can remember," Wright said. "We’ve already passed last year’s wins, which is amazing. And we have such a young team this year, which is awesome. Everybody on our team could be returning next year. We have such amazing freshmen and sophomores this year and our defense has been incredible with players like Mary McNutt and Lizzie Price.
"Our new assistant coach, Christy Shore, has been very supportive and has helped us a lot this season. Our defense has improved so much this year. Christy played defense at TNCJ and she has been teaching us a lot of new techniques that have helped a lot."
Jones wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a team that had no seniors on the varsity roster. Yet, with the emergence of players like Wright, this is turning into a special season.
"It seems like we learn something from each game and take what we’ve learned into the next game," Jones said. "Our defense is playing super ball. They are the unsung heroes. They’re the ones that move the ball forward for us so that the offense is able to score the goals. It all starts with our goalie, Erin (Hoerner). That makes such a difference when the defense can get the ball up the field."
And when they get the ball up the field, Wright is usually there to score a goal for the Little Tigers.
"She was out the whole pre-season with mono and we thought that would be a big setback," Jones said. "But she has been out there since the first game and she has worked hard to gain the strength she is going to need this season.
"We don’t have any seniors this year, so the juniors are the seniors. They are the leaders and they have taken on that role. I think a lot of it is that the girls have started to pick up a stick in the off-season and a lot of them are playing club ball. That really makes a difference."
And so does having a player like Wright, who seems to see things nobody else on the field can see.