SHOWING HART: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Hart Nowakoski races upfield in a 2024 game. Last week, senior midfielder Nowakoski scored two goals in a losing cause as PDS lost 8-7 in overtime to Allentown on April 22. The Panthers, who fell 10-4 to the Hun School last Thursday to move to 3-5, will be playing in the Prep state quarterfinals on May 9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team bringing a three-game winning streak into its clash against Allentown last week, Hart Nowakoski and his teammates were primed to keep rolling.

“We were just trying to ride the same kind of confidence that we had off the Princeton High win and try to play the same way,” said PDS senior midfielder Nowakoski.

Despite being a little under the weather for the April 22 contest, Nowakoski scored two goals in the first half as the Panthers built a 5-2 lead.

“I was feeling confident, I came off of sickness yesterday so I was a little tired,” said Nowakoski. “I think in the first half, we had legs and we played with confidence.”

In the second half, the Redbirds got their legs under them, outscoring the Panthers 5-2 to force overtime and then winning the game 8-7 with a goal in the extra session.

“Lacrosse at times is just a game of runs,” said Nowakoski. “As soon as they got a little bit of a momentum swing with the penalty and a couple of goals. We kind of dropped our heads when we should not have.”

While the defeat stung, Nowakoski believes it could benefit the Panthers going forward.

“It is a good lesson to know for the rest of the season that we need to play 100 percent all of the time,” said Nowakoski. “We have what it takes to beat a lot of these teams so it is just play with confidence and poise.”

Nowakoski looks to display confidence and poise on the field as a battle-tested senior.

“I think it is important that I take more of a leadership role, being more vocal and commanding the offense when I can,” said Nowakoski, who has tallied 12 goals and eight assists so far this season. “It is also building confidence for the younger guys to play the right way and with confidence.”

With a new head coach, Sam Kosoff, leading the Panthers, Nowakoski believes that guys are getting on the same page with his approach.

“He has a positive attitude, he is willing to work with us,’ said Nowakoski of Kosoff. “I think it was telling that even though he kind of came in late in the year and we didn’t really get the ball rolling until right as the season was starting everyone bought in and listens to him.”

PDS head coach Kosoff likes the the progress he has seen from his players as the squad bounced back from a 0-3 start with the three-game winning streak.

“We were kind of shot out of a cannon, we didn’t have much practice as a team,” said Kosoff. “Spring break got into the way and then we faced three really organized opponents. Maybe we will get a chance to see those guys later. I don’t know if we are good enough to beat any of them but we could be much better. We have been doing a lot more stick work. I hate spending practice time doing stick work but it has paid dividends on this end.”

That stickwork was on display as PDS jumped out to the 5-2 halftime lead.

“I liked the way we were spreading the field and running by guys and dodging and dumping,” said Kosoff. “Our defense was doing a great job.”

Kosoff acknowledged that PDS didn’t do a great job in the second half against Allentown.

“I think we got a little case of the yips, it seemed like we started getting tight,” said Kosoff. “We hammer them everyday about the fundamentals. My whole message the last three weeks has been keep it simple, have nice long possessions which we did in the first half. We just seemed to short circuit in the second half.”

In his postgame message, Kosoff implored his players to focus on offensive fundamentals.

“We have to learn from it and take a page out of Allentown’s playbook,” said Kosoff. “They stayed with it. Their offense started cutting freeing themselves up, getting away from pressure, moving the ball well. Our guys seemed to tighten up and drop the ball and throw balls at ankles and it went south.”

Kosoff credits Nowakoski with sparking the Panther offense.

“He is athletic and he goes hard,” said Kosoff of Nowakoski who is headed to Princeton University where he may play club sports. “He is a lacrosse-first kind of kid. He has a lot to learn but he is our most steady consistent guy on the offensive end.

Senior transfer Zach Meseroll emerged as an offensive threat, tallying a team-high 25 points on 16 goals and nine assists.

“Zach is new, he is trying to fit in and figure out what his role is,” said Kosoff. “I think he figured it out a little bit. He has done a good job of distributing and making good, clean, hard smart plays.”
The Panther defensive unit has been figuring out things as well.

“Jake [Harrison] has been pretty steady in goal,” said Kosoff.“Our defense has embraced a zone; it has been a good alternative for us. Wyatt [Ewanchyna] is our best guy off the ground. He has been a second coach out there with things like a zone. Our two shortstick middies, Nick [Stivala] and Ethan [Mack], are both Steady Eddie stalwarts. They are not mistake free but they are consistent. They are reliable.”

With the Panthers, who lost 10-4 to the Hun School last Thursday to move to 3-5, playing in the Prep state quarterfinals on May 9, Kosoff is looking for his players to embrace each other.

“I would love to see us regroup and understand where we fell short today,” said Kosoff. “One thing I keep emphasizing with our guys is let the coaches be frustrated, you guys need to love on each other. There was a little chirping on the sidelines today. I tell them you guys should be saying hey buddy, I got your back, next play. Let us yell at you.”

Nowakoski, for his part, is confident that the Panthers can come together down the stretch.

“I think we just need to get back and practice like we play,” said Nowakoski. “We need to work hard, continue to build confidence and not get on each other’s backs and play as a team.”