Little Tigers rally to beat Johnson Regional
By: Justin Feil
Eight Princeton High seniors on the boys’ lacrosse team roster have to make a decision.
Play in Saturday’s state tournament quarterfinal game, guaranteed to be its toughest challenge of the season, or bask in the sun, surf and sand on the class trip in Virginia Beach.
It’s no contest.
“I don’t care about the senior trip,” PHS defender Joe Gwin said after the Little Tigers defeated Johnson Regional, 10-6, in Wednesday’s second round game. “I want to be in Rutgers’ stadium on June 10 for the state final. I can pile a bunch of guys in my car and go to Virginia Beach any time.”
Princeton, which improved to 17-0 with the win over the Crusaders, will play 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Delbarton, the defending state champions and same team that knocked Princeton out of the state tournament last year. Delbarton is the No. 3 seed. Princeton is the No. 6 seed, though from the opening half of action Wednesday, one might just have well guessed they were the 26th seed.
Gwin was one of the lone Little Tigers who came out after the opening face-off playing with more energy than any of the Crusaders were. Every other minute, it seemed that the senior was picking up a ground ball and running up the right side to feed someone else. But Princeton’s offense came out sluggishly for the second game in a row as Johnson Regional opened an early 2-1 first-quarter lead and built a 3-2 halftime edge.
“In the first half, I was really fired up,” Gwin said. “We have some young players, and they don’t know what it was like to be 2-13 like we were when I was a freshman. It’s tough to appreciate it. For me, it was possibly my last home game here as well. We had to have a strong game.”
In the second half, the Little Tigers got their rush by scoring five unanswered goals in the third quarter to open a 7-3 lead before the Crusaders finally scored in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. But Princeton notched three straight goals to put the game out of reach with a 10-4 lead. Josh Miller led Princeton with four goals while Whitney Hayes and his senior brother Dixon added two goals apiece for the Little Tigers who played like a different team after their usual halftime huddle.
“It wasn’t necessarily me that said anything,” said PHS head coach Peter Stanton. “That was one of my objectives this year, to have them say it to each other. Jaime Annexy (a senior) went out and said it at halftime. He’s a senior and he’s been a real emotional leader for us. He was the one that got them to pick it up.”
At both ends there was a noticeable change as the Little Tigers roared out in the second half. After a jarring hit by junior Will Tisdale freed the ball, Princeton senior goalie Eric Krieger fired a long outlet pass to Josh Miller, another senior, who proceeded to go by two Johnson Regional defenders before beating the goalie for the tying tally.
It was just 24 seconds later that Princeton took its first lead of the game, 4-3, when Mike Cummings drove in and fired a shot high over the Crusader goalie’s shoulder. The Little Tigers were off and running.
“It was a big goal,” the junior said. “Probably my biggest ever. After I scored and Josh scored, we got going. We just opened up the game.
“The last couple of games we haven’t played up to our potential on offense. We’ve never been behind at halftime this season and Jaime Annexy started yelling at us. He got us fired up again, and we just exploded in that third quarter.”
Cummings is in his first year on the varsity, but he’s one of the players who has helped keep the Princeton record unblemished. His go-ahead score was his 10th of the season giving the Little Tigers six double digit scorers on their roster.
“That’s a big thing about this team,” Stanton said. “Other teams have to respond to everyone. Everyone is a threat. Mike Cummings has been willing to do anything for us this year, and he usually does a little of everything. He keeps the ball moving and gets it to our guys.
“We saw a mismatch today with him and we told him to look for his shot more. We said, ‘Mike, go to the goal with it,’ and he took it. It speaks a lot about the character he has. If you’re a role player and you’re asked to take it to the goal in a big moment, that can be tough. He was great.”
“It was a chance to prove myself,” Cummings said. “They never tell me to go to the net. I’d rather put the ball in the hands of Whitney or Dixon. I don’t care about my goals. I want to do what’s best for the team. It’s my first year on the team. It’s been good so far. I’m having a great time.”
The Little Tigers hope that season continues past Saturday as it aims for a trip to the June 10 state final. Princeton knows it will face an experienced and talented team, whoever wins, but it would have special meaning to face Delbarton again.
“Revenge is sweet,” Gwin said. “Delbarton beat us last year in the second round. We’d like to destroy them, or beat them in a close game. It doesn’t matter. I’ll take either.”
“They play a rugged schedule,” Stanton said. “They’re always a tough defensive team. I don’t know how their offense is. With Eric in goal, anything can happen.
“We’re realistic. We understand they’re the defending state champions. We know if we can beat them it would be an upset. We need to stick to our strength, which is moving the ball. It was good to have a test today.”
Johnson Regional played Princeton tough for a half. It made Wednesday no day at the beach, and it means Saturday won’t be either.
None of the Little Tigers seem to care.