LIGHTING IT UP: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse player Patrick Kenah runs past a foe in recent action. Last Saturday night, senior star Kenah tallied five goals and six assists to help PHS defeat Notre Dame 21-11 under the lights at Mercer County Community College. The Tigers, who improved to 7-4 with the win, play at Summit on May 4 and at Hightstown on May 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With Saturday night lights shining as the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team faced Notre Dame last weekend at Mercer County Community College, Patrick Kenah and his teammates wanted to put on a show.

“So many people put so much time and work into getting us this venue under the lights,” said PHS senior star attacker Kenah.

“We don’t have lights on our normal stadium, so everyone was super pumped. We had practice this morning to go over some stuff. The guys were locked in the moment we got here.”

Displaying how locked in they were, the Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, patiently moving the ball and picking apart the Notre Dame defense.

“We wanted to work for each other, get each other open, and swing the ball around,” said Kenah. “I thought we did a good job of that. They threw a couple of defenses at us so we had to adjust often. I thought we did a good job.”

PHS built an 8-2 halftime lead as it excelled at both ends of the field.

“It is super critical; it gets the juices flowing, not just everyone on the field but off the field too,” said Kenah of the early lead. “Our defense played great today. They did their job, our goalie (Kian Bragg) had a very good first half.”

After Notre Dame found a rhythm in the third quarter as it tallied four goals, PHS pounded the Irish 9-5 in the last 12 minutes of the contest to pull away to a 21-11 win, improving to 7-4.

“We wanted to keep it going, we didn’t want to slow down,” said Kenah. “They pulled it back closer in the third quarter, so we needed to keep going. It was a good team win.”

Kenah, who ended up with five goals and six assists against Notre Dame, now has 63 points this season on 29 goals and 34 assists.

“I hope to keep improving this year, I thought I had a solid game,” said Kenah, who has piled up 327 career points on 185 goals and 142 assists, becoming the 51st player in N.J. history to reach the 300-point milestone. “It is easy when other guys around you are doing their job.”

Over the years, Kenah has developed a particularly strong connection with one of those other guys, junior midfielder Brendan Beatty.

“It is awesome, me and Brendan are super close off the field too,” said Kenah of Beatty, who has the same stat line this spring as the senior star with 29 goals and 34 assists. “We are always looking for each other.”

Having committed to attend Lafayette College and play for its men’s lax program, Kenah ramped up his training to get ready for this spring and beyond.

“This offseason was super crucial, I wanted to put in the work,” said Kenah. “I knew I needed to have a good season. I wanted to help the team and be a leader of this team. I think I have set myself up well to do that and I have been put in a good position.”

Although PHS came into Saturday having lost to Cherokee 17-10 on April 23 and getting edged 12-11 by Robbinsville last Thursday, Tiger head coach Chip Casto believed his team was still in a good position as it faced the Irish.

“We have been trying to just keep moving forward,” said Casto. “In those two tough losses we had, we actually got better. That is what we talked about, we got better.”

The Tigers clearly got better in the win over Notre Dame as they hit 20 goals in a game for the first time this spring.

“I was telling the squad, ‘I went and saw my 92-year-old father on Wednesday,’” said Casto, choking up for a moment. “He was like, ‘How is the team?’ and I said, ‘Pop, we are not doing so well, but they are good kids and they work hard. He goes, ‘Chip, you never know when it is going to click, just keep coaching.’ This is a click. It was unbelievable, as coach [Peter] Stanton and coach [Jason] Carter were talking, it was just contagious.”

PHS clicked throughout the lineup as Beatty tallied four goals and five assists in the win with Braden Barlag scoring six goals, Jason Singer chipping in two goals and an assist, and Alex Famiglietti contributing two goals.

“It was lots of guys finishing, it was a great effort,” said Casto. “We were consistent on the offense. Patrick was running the offense, seeing the looks.”

Casto credited Kenah with triggering the PHS attack. “Patrick is a student of the game, he has really learned the offense, he sees all six guys,” said Casto. “He is going to play at Lafayette and he really wants to do well. He is just trying to learn the game as best he can. He is a fantastic student, he is a great kid.”

The one-two punch of Kenah and Beatty helped bury the Irish in the fourth quarter.

“We have been leaning on them to be the best players in the CVC and just go,” said Casto. “They took it upon themselves to really put the hammer down when we could because these guys will come back in a heartbeat.”

The Tiger defense held Notre Dame down as PHS led 21-9 with 2:15 left in the game before the Irish tacked on two late goals.

“Coach Carter has been great with the defense,” said Casto. “Coach Stanton got our backup goalie (Bragg) ready to play. Corbin [Kasziba] had to go away for the weekend. We got caught shorthanded and Kian stepped in and played tremendously.”

For Casto, getting to see his squad play under the lights was a great treat.

“I went to college in upstate N.Y. and we used to go see high school lacrosse under the lights with all the fans,” said Casto. “It was so fun and that is what they deserve. They are good kids that work hard. It is a good celebration of the game and the county.”

With PHS playing at perennial powerhouse Summit on May 4 and at Hightstown on May 7, Casto is looking for his players to keep up the good work.

“We have Summit a week from today; what we found is big games like that where we are the super underdog in the two-three practices leading up to that are some of the best in the season,” said Casto. “Summit is going to make us better, that is why you take those games. Because we are a major underdog, you go and you learn from that.”

Kenah, for his part, believes the performance against Notre Dame is a harbinger of things to come.

“It is a huge confidence booster, it is a reflection of how good we can play,” said Kenah. “We have to meet the standard. We have to take it one game at a time and bring the same energy that we brought today to other games. It is just make the most of what we have. Our ultimate goal is to put something on the banner in our gym.”