With the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse mired in a three-game losing streak coming into last week, Eamonn McDonald and his teammates righted the ship against North Hunterdon.

Junior attackman McDonald scored two goals to help PHS pull out a 6-4 victory.

“We practiced really hard for our North Hunterdon game; we came out really strong and probably played our best game of the year,” said McDonald, reflecting on the April 25 contest. “It was a great win for us.”

After picking up a second win two days later with a 13-4 victory over Holmdel, the Little Tigers were sluggish as they played at WW/P-N last Thursday night in a steady rain.

PHS trailed 1-0 late in the second quarter and looked as dreary as the weather until McDonald took matters into his hands. Going to goal, McDonald found the back of the net twice in less than a minute.

“We started off a little slow but the second quarter really picked it up,” said McDonalds. “Once I scored, the team got a little hyped up.”

Clinging to a 3-1 lead at halftime, the Little Tigers pulled away with a 4-0 third quarter on the way to a 12-3 triumph.

“At halftime, coach talked to us and we got really fired up,” recalled McDonald, who ended up with five goals in the win as the Little Tigers improved to 7-3.

“The next goal was a critical one; we clicked. The practice really shows off in the games and I hope we keep winning.”

With PHS earning the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Mercer County Tournament and hosting No. 15 Hamilton in a first round contest on May 5 with the winner advancing to the quarters on May 7, McDonald is looking to keep firing away.

“I think the offense as a whole has been getting better over the past few weeks,” said McDonald.

“We have been working in practice listening to our coaches and our chemistry has been picking up.”

McDonald, who is also a star defenseman for the PHS boys’ hockey team, believes that playing offense in the spring makes him a better all-around athlete.

“The defense helps me on riding with position and body placement; it helps me direct my feet towards where I am supposed to be on the ride,” explained McDonald. “I enjoy it a lot, the contrast, it really diversifies my skills.”

PHS head coach Chip Casto enjoyed seeing McDonald turn the tide of the contest.

“Eamonn was a spark; as soon as he starts moving his feet, he plays a lot better,” said Casto.

The Little Tigers have been getting better and better on defense, buoyed by the play of junior Leo Godefroy in goal.

“That has always been the strong point of our team,” asserted Casto, referring to the team’s defensive unit.

“Leo is achieving what we thought he might achieve this year. We didn’t know it would be to the level it has been so we are very excited about that.”

In Casto’s view, PHS hasn’t played its strongest lacrosse yet.

“There were still a lot of mistakes so we have a lot of things to work on,” said Casto.

“We are still not clicking and moving the ball the way we would like to. We are not spraying the shots around, we have got just a couple of guys taking a lot of shots.”

McDonald, for his part, believes that the Little Tigers have a shot at doing some big things in postseason play.

“I look forward to the hard competition coming in the MCT and states,” said McDonald. “I think we have to practice hard and swing the ball to do well.”