Little Tigers face Montgomery next
By: Justin Feil
Tyler Moni knew in 2004 that the Princeton High School boys’ lacrosse team would be good again.
Then a freshman making big contributions for a Little Tigers team that went 5-12, Moni saw signs that things would get better.
"For a while, I was thinking my junior year would be a big year," said Moni, a junior attack. "The class above, I knew had a lot of talent and our class was pretty good. I knew for sure, coming into the season, we had a lot of talent. It was just going to be whether we string it together. We struggled a couple years ago but it gave us a work ethic. Wins didn’t come easily. And we didn’t win a lot. Then the next year, we got better. Once we got older, we knew it was getting special.
"Princeton has been so good in years past. We knew we’d get back to that. We knew it was our year."
Moni scored three goals including the 100th of his career and the Little Tigers took another step toward their ultimate goal of a state championship when they knocked off Voorhees, 10-6, Friday in the Group II state tournament. Top-seeded PHS hosts No. 5 Montgomery High School 4 p.m. today.
"We didn’t play as well as we could," Moni said. "But we got the job done. That’s been a theme. That’s why we have so many wins. We know we need to step it up even more for the next games."
PHS improved to 17-1 with Friday’s win, equaling the record of the 2000 team that reached the state quarterfinals before falling to Delbarton. At that time, the state tournament included all teams, so the Little Tigers were one of just eight left playing.
"Coach still tells stories about those guys," Moni said. "Those guys had a lot of talent. They found a way to win. That’s like us. We know inside we should win every game. We have the talent. There’s no team that should beat us. It relates back to what they had.
"We talk about that (team) a lot," he added. "Coach is always telling us stories about team 2000. Team 2000 was 17-1. With a win on Tuesday, that would make us 18-1. The record has to show how good you are. They’re obviously a great team. They still come back and they’re still supportive. We have a lot to prove. Coach always says you can’t compare teams like that because teams bring different things. I think we’re right with them. A little longer in states and we’ll be pretty respected also."
Moni is a talent that has only gotten better through the years since contributing as a freshman. His contributions are even more meaningful now, particularly with the loss of David Giancola to injury. Moni has become a more dangerous threat each successive season.
"It’s a learning process with him," said PHS coach Peter Stanton. "Going from eighth grade to ninth grade, you jump a few levels to get to varsity. Defensemen in varsity are so much better. Defenses are much more complicated. It took him a while. It was learning. It was watching film, learning how to read defenses, improving his vision. Those are skills that take a little while to develop.
"He was named first-team All-Pitt division along with Casey Rahn and Sam Finnell. That’s a pretty big award to receive when you’re a junior. He is definitely our best offensive player. We try to work the ball around as best we can, but he’s the main focus."
It’s an important role for an undervalued offense. Moni is a veteran on a unit that does not get the attention of the Little Tiger defense. Much is made of PHS’ ability to hold teams to single digits in all 18 of their games.
"Our defense is pretty amazing," Moni said. "(Goalie) Sam Finnell is pretty amazing. It’s like we’re living in the defense’s shadow. But we’re putting up goals every game. We’re still working to get credit for what we do out there. We’re working for everyone to respect our offense. It is tough. Everyone talks about the defense. It’s all you read about. We’re still trying to prove ourselves. We think we have a good offense. We’re still trying to work on it."
The Little Tigers got a lift Friday from Mark Jeevaratnam and Garrett Riley, both who scored goals in the game while filling in for Giancola. Moni and Brandon Polakoff each had three goals apiece, including the milestone goal for Moni.
"I had no idea until a couple games ago that I even had 90," Moni said. "It was kind of a shock. I didn’t think I’d get it that fast, or ever. It’s a combination of a couple good years. This year, it’s not like I’ve been taking it to the goal by myself. It’s been Brandon Polakoff and David Giancola passing it, and Travis Roe-Raymond last year. I’ve just had to put them in. It’s good for Coach (Jason) Carter, who works with our offense. He gives me a lot of opportunities to score.
"That was never the goal," he added of reaching 100 goals. "It still hasn’t set in. It seems like such a big number. It’s weird. I’m more focused on game after game. It’s definitely pretty awesome."
Moni is much more than a goal scorer now. It’s part of the development about which Stanton has been talking.
"Initially," Stanton said, "he was a guy who was goal scorer. He’s become much more of play maker."
It’s made him more dangerous and made the Little Tigers more confident in their offense. It’s helpful, in particular, to have Moni’s wealthy of experience, which is one of the biggest changes since his freshman year.
"I think I play differently," Moni said. "I try to be more of a leader on the field. I try to keep chaos out of it and make sure keep the team is calm and knows the plays. I’m still trying to get better all the time. The main thing is the leadership."
The Little Tigers will be looking for their leaders to step forward when they host Montgomery. PHS got an early look at the Cougars with a preseason scrimmage.
"Montgomery is a very talented team," Stanton said. "We know they have a lot of good players. I really think the key will be composure. They have a lot of good shooters and a lot of offensive threats. They can score and get on runs and score bunches of goals. Our whole thing all year has been we haven’t panicked. We didn’t panic when we went down, 5-0, in our first game of the season. We didn’t panic when we went down, 7-3, against Hopewell. If they score three goals in a row or something like that happens, we hopefully will maintain our cool and keep plugging away.
"We also have a defense capable of keeping people scoreless for long stretches. At this stage, decision-making is critical, taking care of the ball, and not giving them easy chances to score. And we have to make the most of our chances."
Moni and the PHS attack hope that taking care of their opportunities on the offensive end in combination with steady defensive play at the other end will put the Little Tigers in the state final. It’s where the Little Tigers had hoped to be, at the start of this season and even as long ago as two years ago when PHS was struggling to win any games.
"That was a tough year," Stanton said. "The thing about that year that was tough, we were so close in a few games to winning. We weren’t getting blown out that much. We could see we had the seeds for success then."
Tyler Moni was one of those seeds, and he’s grown into one of the reasons the Little Tigers are threatening to break the best record in program history.

