STICKING WITH IT: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Gibson Linnehan clears the ball in a game earlier this spring. Last Wednesday, senior defender/midfielder Linnehan had a goal in a losing cause as top-seeded PDS fell 13-8 to second-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy in the state Prep B title game. The Panthers, who topped Pennington 16-6 last Monday in improving to 4-7, play at the Hun School on May 19, at St. Joe’s Metuchen on May 20 and Shawnee High on May 22 before hosting Hillsborough High on May 24. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

He wore black braces supporting his left shin and right ankle but painful legs weren’t going to stop Gibson Linnehan from giving his all as the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team hosted Montclair Kimberley Academy in the state Prep B title game last Wednesday.

“It is my last time ever playing for this team and I can’t really take time off the field,” said senior defender/midfielder and co-captain Linnehan. “It hurts every single time I walk but I have to push through.”

PDS dug an early 5-1 hole but scored the last two goals of the second quarter to make it a 5-3 contest at halftime.

“We have got to push back, we are definitely a grinding team,” said Linnehan.

“Every single play we have to work for, it doesn’t come naturally.”

Linnehan helped lead the push back, tallying a goal with 1:55 left in the half to narrow the MKA lead to 5-2.

“I just saw an opening down low and Charlie Hogshire was at X,” recalled Linnehan

“I just showed for him; he skipped that pass and I put it into the top right.”

After yielding a goal early in the third quarter, PDS answered back with tallies by Sebastian Rzeczycki and Aidan McChesney but the Panthers never got closer as MKA answered with a 6-2 run to pull away to the win.

“The energy was there for us, we wanted to build on it,” said Linnehan, reflecting
on the second half rally.

“That is just the way it goes, teams go on runs. We have a really young team this year and the freshmen have been playing really well. That team played really well and we couldn’t respond to their few goals at the end.”

While the result stung, Linnehan had no qualms with PDS’ effort.

“We have had such a strong showing in past years in the Prep B and we wanted to win this game today,” said Linnehan of the program, which has won four Mercer County Tournament titles and three Prep B crowns in the last decade.

“It didn’t turn out the way we wanted to but every single quarter we gave it our all.”

Looking ahead, Linnehan will be giving his all next year in New England, having committed to attend Providence College and play for its Division I men’s lax program.

“A few of my friends had previously committed to Providence so that made the decision a lot easier,” said Linnehan, who was also looking at Boston University and Lehigh.

“Coach [Chris] Gabrielli and coach [Matt] Francis were just awesome, they are two of the main reasons I committed there. The team is pretty young and I wanted to be part of something that is building in the future.”

PDS head coach Joe Moore liked the commitment displayed by his
players against MKA.

“They were very fired up, they have a good understanding of the history of the program,” said Moore.

“We did our best to maintain the history here but unfortunately fell short. I am very proud of the way that our seniors especially played, all of those guys left it on the field.”

Moore credited Linnehan with sparking the program on and off the field.

“Gibson is one of the hardest-working players I have ever worked with in my entire life,” said Moore.

“We could not have asked for more from him and we are fortunate to have him for his off-field contributions. It doesn’t get better than him with our young guys seeing him.”

Two other seniors, midfielder Trevor Kunkle and goalie Eric Gellasch, stepped up in the final with Kunkle scoring two goals and Gellasch making nine saves.

“Trevor is another pretty gritty guy, who plays with his heart; he had a few opportunities he could have buried but he made plays all over the field,” said Moore, whose group of seniors also included Xander Gardner, Bruno Cucchi, Drew McConaughy, Hector Capeilleres, Aidan McChesney, Alex Darenkov, and Alexander Liu Nowakoski.

“Eric had a great game. He will never say he had a great game but everybody else knows he did. He has been our rock on defense.”

Although the PDS attack misfired at times in the loss to MKA, Moore was pleased with the aggressiveness he saw at that end of the field.

“We try to capitalize on our unsettled situations and opportunities,” said Moore.

“Our offensive guys are young guys and they have really done a good job of coming along in those unsettled situations. Today from an unsettled perspective, I am really proud of our young guys and how they capitalized and at least got good looks.”

Moore acknowledged that PDS faced a tough task in knocking off a well-drilled MKA squad.

“That was a great team, they are so balanced,” said Moore. “They are balanced across the field. They knew what they were doing and they obviously scouted us pretty well. They move the ball well and we can only do so much when we play a lot of defense.”

In reflecting on the Panthers’ run to the Prep B title game, Moore believes his team has developed a special chemistry.

“We have been preaching about the culture and the program,” said Moore.

“We have been talking a lot about ‘us’ — that is our chant now during games and practices. The kids now understand what that means and the history of the program and they are leaving it on the field.”

With PDS having a busy final week of the season coming up, Moore wants his players to leave it on the field.

“We still have more games left here which is great for the seniors,” said Moore, whose team topped Pennington 16-6 last Monday to improve to 4-7 and will play at the Hun School on May 18, at St. Joseph’s Metuchen on May 20, and at Shawnee High on May 22 before hosting Hillsborough High on May 24 in the season finale.

“The message for the seniors is just enjoy the rest of the season, have fun and leave your mark on the program.”

Linnehan, for his part, is determined to go out on a high note.

“I just want to win every game that we can,” said Linnehan. “Hopefully we can just get a really good end of the season going.”