Lis leads girls soccer offense breakout from new spot
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
HAMILTON — Taylor Lis will be in a new role for the Princeton High girls soccer team down the final stretch of the season and the Little Tigers are confident she can handle the transition.
”Shannon (Pawlak) was unfortunately injured so I stepped into her role on the attack,” said Lis, who moved to the forward line for Princeton when the Little Tigers’ top scorer was lost of the season with an injury. “It is a new spot for me but I have had a lot of support from the whole team. We had a plan coming into the game from practice and I knew what was expected of me up there and I had to adjust accordingly.”
Lis scored twice and added an assist as Princeton bounced back from a 3-0 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro North to defeat Nottingham, 7-1, last Thursday. The game was the second in a row played without Pawlak, who has scored a team-high 10 goals this season.
”We had three starters out today,” said Princeton coach Val Rodriguez, whose team improved to 7-3-1 with the win. “We had both backs out and Shannon out. Both backs we anticipate to have back soon but Shannon will be out for the season. The move was to put Taylor up top and move her sister, Devon, to the middle. There was a lot of shifting. Today was a big day for us picking each other up.
”We talked about not allowing the season to be headlined with Princeton’s injuries or something like that. This year the main thing is there are roles on the team to fill and as long as those roles are filled it doesn’t have to be the same kid every time.”
In addition to the two goals from Taylor Lis, Serena DiBianco scored twice, while Devon Lis, Gabrielle Dietch and freshman Kristina Miers added single tallies. Princeton misfired on its first few shots but once the Little Tigers scored they kept the pressure on and jumped out to a 5-1 lead. For the offense, it was another chance to get used to playing without their leading scorer.
”I have moved up to that spot a few times in the past so it is not completely new to me,” said Lis, who moved forward from her center midfield position. “I felt like we were able to work out their defense and figure out what worked for us and we were able to continue those balls that were on and get in behind them. It was a bit frustrating in the beginning but we knew that by coming out so strong one of them was going to go in for us.
”We have had a few tough games so far but we have done a great job bouncing back each time just like this time after our West Windsor North game. So I am really proud of us for that.”
As the Little Tigers prepare for a tough stretch of games that will lead right into the Mercer County Tournament, they will be adjusting on the fly with players in new positions.
”Shannon is a big factor,” Rodriguez said. “There is a mental piece to it but it was also that we build our attack by finding the highest player and then dropping it off and going from there. We didn’t have that target player against North. A big piece of it was mental but a big piece was also tactical. We never even got into their 18.
”Taylor is going to adjust well to that. She has been playing attacking mid for us so she has been in the mix with the forwards anyway. We have Notre Dame, Allentown and Hightstown coming up before the MCT and there is no better way to prepare for your tournaments.”