Cougar lacrosse faces Princeton next
By: Justin Feil
Tim Santye is not the first attackman that comes to mind when teams think of the Montgomery High School boys’ lacrosse team.
Santye has made teams that overlook him pay. The senior leads the Cougars in goals scored after adding a season-high five goals to his total in an 11-4 win over Hopewell Valley in the Group II state tournament Friday. The win avenged an 8-6 loss to Hopewell in the second game of the season.
"Tim Santye had five goals and he made second team all-conference," said MHS coach Tim Sullivan, whose team improved to 13-6. "We had four attackmen that were first-team on the field today. Tim played the best of them."
The challenge gets bigger for Santye and his attack teammates. After disposing of fourth-seeded Hopewell, fifth-seeded MHS travels to face top-seeded Princeton High School 4 p.m. today. The Little Tigers are a team built on defense.
"We played them preseason," Santye said. "Their two main defenders were out, so it’s hard to take much from that. They’re one of, if not the strongest, defenses we’ve gone up against. We have to be patient and work the ball around.
"I think it brings a little more motivation. You have to respect them. You don’t get that respect for nothing. We have to go out and respect them and we can’t make any mental mistakes. We have to play our game and see what happens."
Playing their game means possessing the ball. MHS wasn’t able to do so as well in the first meeting with Hopewell as they did in Friday’s rematch. The Cougars took the first 17 shots of Friday’s game to set the tone.
"A big part of it was we all knew it’s single elimination now," Santye said. "We don’t have any more games after the tournament is over. We could leave it all on the field and go all out.
"This was our chance to get back at them," he added. "I think we’re peaking at the right time. (Goalie) Joe DiGangi played awesome. The rest of attack moved the ball well. We all realized what we had to do and executed."
DiGangi finished with eight saves and five ground balls. Mike Yetter had three goals and three assists while Jim Yetter had a pair of goals. Steve Watson also had three assists. More frequently than not, it was Santye that was on the receiving end of the assists. It has become his role for the Cougars.
"He’s been overshadowed by the Yetters," Sullivan said. "He has had a great year this year. He’s the off ball guy. He’s not driving, but he knows how to cut when he doesn’t have the ball. He did that well today and Hopewell had no answer. He was catching and finishing. He’s been doing that all year."
Santye doesn’t feel slighted by the lack of attention. It’s helped make him a more secret weapon.
"I don’t really mind it," he said. "Being anonymous, the other coach is not expecting it. It doesn’t faze me. I just go out and play the game. All three of us on attack are working together."
They’ve been working together for years. Many of the MHS attack played together in eighth grade, and were brought back together in Santye’s sophomore year. Since then, they’ve grown into an impressive unit that has been most effective when everyone is getting into the act.
"They really shut down my attack last time," Sullivan said. "The attack came alive today. They scored 10 of the 11 goals."
Against Hopewell, Santye was the goal scorer, but he wasn’t doing it alone. He was finding the opening while playing the crease, a position that is new to him but that he’s grown more comfortable in doing each game.
"A couple times," Santye said, "the guy had to respect Mike and Jim who were dodging. They beat their guy and drew the slide and got it to me. Both those guys working hard got me a couple opportunities. Ground balls were huge. Sean Hover picked up some ground balls and led to some more possession.
"Today, Spencer (Schwab) came up big like the rest of the team. He’s been getting better every game. Getting possession is huge after you just scored a goal. It helps keep momentum."
The Cougars are picking up momentum with each win. They were more impressive in Friday’s win than they were in a 13-5 rout of Seneca in the opening round. Sullivan felt like MHS played with more passion Friday.
"It’s nice when the kids have a purpose," he said. "A lot of them were riding highs of the past. We have to make our own destiny. We’re starting to do that."
It couldn’t come at a better time. MHS now takes on a Top 5 state team, a PHS team that has lost just once this year. It’s a game that should match MHS’ offense against one of the best defense’s around.
"Princeton, as everybody knows, their defense and goalie are very strong," Sullivan said. "Their defensemen can handle the ball better than most guys on their team. Their goalie is phenomenal. They’re seeded No. 1 for a reason. They haven’t stumbled all year. We have to come out with our A game.
"I haven’t played them in three years," he added. "They moved out of the Bianchi, and we haven’t played them. We wanted to play them in the regular season. This is a better time to play them."
Particularly for the Cougars, who are starting to play the way they were expected to in the beginning of the season. MHS now hopes to put it all together today for their best performance yet, one that would put them in the Group II final against the Ramapo-Moorestown winner. Topping Hopewell in the rematch in such convincing fashion was just a start.
"It shows the progression we made," Santye said. "In the beginning of the year, we were still trying to find the chemistry between everyone and get it back. I think we’re peaking at the right time."

