Boys’ lacrosse in state semis
By: Justin Feil
A good goalie can make all the difference for a lacrosse team.
Princeton High School has had its share of strong ones and Jeff Goeke looks to be the latest. He certainly did the legacy proud in his state tournament debut.
The sophomore had 13 saves in the Little Tigers’ 12-9 win over Northern Highlands in their Group II state opener Friday. None of the saves was bigger than Goeke’s stop 25 seconds into the second half.
Clinging to a 5-4 lead after fifth-seeded Northern Highlands scored the final goal of the first half, the No. 4 Little Tigers watched as a rare defensive breakdown left Goeke face-to-face with an attackman at his doorstep. Goeke sprung out to knock away the ball, and PHS’ Brandon Polakoff scored minutes later. Northern Highlands never got within two goals again.
"That really pumped me up," said Goeke of the save. "I think it pumped a lot of the team up. I like to think that’s why we had a lot of the goals. Part of it was because of the three-minute non-releasable penalty, but that save really got me excited. It got me playing well."
PHS owned a 7-5 lead going into the fourth quarter when an illegal Northern Highlands stick gave them a three-minute advantage. PHS built a 10-5 lead during the three minutes and even a late Northern Highlands flurry brought them only to the final three-goal outcome.
"Jeff made that save; it couldn’t have been a bigger save," said PHS head coach Peter Stanton after his team improved to 10-5. "That would have tied it and it would have been a dogfight. I would have to say that was his biggest save of the year. It was definitely a good time to have it."
Polakoff had five goals and a pair of assists. Tyler Moni had two goals and three assists and Garrett Riley had two goals and two assists for the Little Tigers, who will play at West Morris Central 4 p.m. today. Goeke figures to get bigger test from the No. 1 seed, and he could be an even bigger part of PHS’ upset bid.
"When he makes those saves, the goalie is so important to a team’s morale," Stanton said. "If a goalie lets in a couple soft ones, for some reason it seems like his team isn’t playing as hard. If a goalie makes an incredible save, people break out a little harder. It’s one of those kinds of things that feeds off each other. If the goalie gets better, the team plays harder."
The Little Tigers had no trouble putting forth an effort Friday. Casey Rahn led a spirited defense and even scored a goal which tied the game for the final time, 3-3, in the second quarter.
"He scored that goal," Stanton said. "He took the ball away. He was good with the ball. He was just amazing."
Rahn is part of a veteran defense that offers Goeke a buffer between opposing attackers. The defense has helped bring Goeke along in his first varsity season.
"If I’m not really in it, they’re there to back me up," Goeke said. "It really helps. Say I let up a bad goal, they’re right there explaining everything. They really help me through it."
They even help keep the ball out of the net on occasion. Minutes after Goeke’s huge save to start the third quarter, he got just a piece of a shot that then bounced behind him toward the goal. Chad Pinto was there to flick it away and preserve the Little Tigers’ two-goal cushion. The PHS defense allowed just one goal in the first 20 minutes of the second half.
"We just focused on doing all the little things right," Goeke said. "We all did our job. We’ve been doing the same thing all season except today we really executed."
Goeke and the Little Tigers are looking to build on the experience today. PHS is looking for the consistency that has been tough to find this season. Today it goes for just its second three-game winning streak of the season.
"It’s been such a funny year for us with our development," Stanton said. "It’s been fits and starts. We have such a mixture of senior leadership and young players and inexperience that we get better, then we make mistakes. At this point, if you win a state playoff game, you’re just happy. Hopefully we can learn from some of our mistakes. If we make them now, we’re done. We’ll see what happens."
The Little Tigers hope to ride their strengths to the Group II finals, something they couldn’t accomplish last year in the midst of a 17-2 season. Goeke gives them more confidence in the back that they will be in today’s game. He played so well in the early going that PHS gave up its plans to rotate goalies.
"Through the season, I’ve really grown," Goeke said. "Each game, I just think of as one game and not a big deal. It was pretty tough in the beginning, then after I got the starting spot, I started feeling a lot better and I ended up playing a lot better."
Added Stanton: "Jeff has a fantastic attitude. He knows he’s the young guy. We give him instruction or criticism, he says, you’re right, Coach. He really tries to make the changes we ask of him."
Goeke may be in his first lacrosse state tournament, but he was a part of the PHS ice hockey team that advanced a round farther than predicted in the winter. That experience relieves pressure for him. The Little Tigers as a team don’t have the same pressure this season as they did when entering last year’s tournament with one loss.
"There’s a little less pressure," Stanton said. "You’re the No. 4 seed. You’re ranked 30-something in the state. You’re on nobody’s polls. It makes it a little easier to just say, OK, fellas, we’re going to go out and do it. Sometimes when you’re the No. 1 seed, and you’re in the top five and college coaches are coming to watch you play, some of that stuff can be a burden. Hopefully, we’re a little looser coming into this semifinal.
"We lost to them two years ago in a similar situation. I think we were the 11 seed and they were the 3 seed. We lost that game in overtime. Casey, Jesse, Mike, they were all a huge part of that game so they remember. We’re at the same point we were last year. We have the opportunity to exceed what the 17-2 team accomplished."
Another good goalie in Jeff Goeke should help.