SLIDING IN: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse player Braden Barlag fires a shot from his knees in a game earlier this season. Last week, senior attacker Barlag scored a last-second goal to help PHS edge Hun 10-9 in overtime on May 6. Last Saturday, Barlag tallied four goals to help fourth-seeded PHS defeat fifth-seeded Robbinsville 11-5 in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament quarterfinals. The Tigers, now 10-6, were slated to play at top-seeded Hopewell Valley in the CVC semis on May 13 with the victor advancing to the final on May 15 at HoVal. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
After suffering a 16-5 loss to Allentown on May 3, the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team did a re-set as it prepared to face crosstown rival Hun last week.
“Yesterday’s practice changed everything,” said PHS senior attacker Braden Barlag. “We got our mind on the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament starting this week. It was just keeping that positive energy.”
In the matchup with Hun, we came out with energy, jumping out to a 3-0 lead.
“We were just firing the ball around, locking in,” said Barlag. “We were fired up to play them.”
With foes knotted at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, the game was delayed for about an hour due to thunder in the area.
“We were just keeping our sticks warm, stretching out, just talking as a team during the break,” said Barlag. “Then right as we heard 10 minutes, we all strapped up, locked in. We were ready to come back out here and were ready to play.”
After play resumed, the game remained tight as the rivals were tied at 5-5, 6-6, and 7-7 before Hun forged ahead 9-7 midway through the fourth quarter.
With less than a minute left in regulation, PHS appeared to be heading for a defeat but then lightning struck as Carmine Carusone scored with nine seconds remaining and then after a face-off violation by Hun, Barlag took a feed from Brendan Beatty and scored a buzzer-beater to force overtime.
“You always have to have confidence in your boys,” said Barlag. “Brendan had a fantastic game and Carmine with the behind the back goal.”
On his dramatic tally, Barlag didn’t have time to do anything other than fire away.
“Coach drew up a great play; Brendan carried it over the top and he drew two or three guys, looked back to me and made a great pass,” said Barlag. “I just stepped in, took a second and just shot as hard as I could and tried to not think. I just shot it and prayed it went in.”
PHS went on to win 10-9 in overtime on a goal by Beatty and rode that momentum into the CVC tourney as fourth-seeded PHS defeated fifth-seeded Robbinsville 11-5 last Saturday in a quarterfinal contest.
“It shows we can deal with adversity,” said Barlag, who scored four goals in the win over the Ravens. “We have had some pretty down weeks here, going 0-4 in the division. To come back out here after a delay and get a win builds momentum going into the CVC which is the main goal of the season.”
PHS, now 10-6, was slated to play at top-seeded Hopewell Valley in the CVC semis on May 13 with the victor advancing to the final on May 15 at HoVal.
In Barlag’s view, the squad’s unity and intensity will make it a tough out in the CVC tourney.
“We have a shorter squad than we have had but it sort of benefits us because we are a very close team this year,” said Barlag. “It is working on it in practice, getting ready mentally and just keep stretching, just keep drinking water and do the things we have been doing the whole year.”
Barlag’s connection with classmate Beatty has led to some good things over the years for the Tigers.
“It is great to play with a guy like Brendan,” said Barlag. “He is the best player on the field every time we got out and played. I have played with him all four years.”
PHS head coach Chip Casto saw the Hun game as a microcosm of his team’s bumpy ride this spring.
“It is like our season — up, down, up down,” said Casto. “We have done that [get off to an early lead] like four times and lost maybe three of those.”
As the clock ticked down against the Raiders, Casto believed the Tigers were headed to another loss.
“It was definitely over but Carmine never, ever quits and boom, gets a crazy acrobatic goal,” said Casto. “And then like coach [Peter] Stanton said it is nearly impossible to score a goal off a face-off in eight seconds when you have been losing them. That guy is an excellent face-off guy and he jumped and that was all we needed. Brendan was going, he saw that throwback and Braden has made a living scoring goals off other people.”
Casto credited Beatty with being a steadying influence during the rally by the Tigers.
“He has been a little beat up, he has had a good, healthy week,” said Casto of Beatty, who tallied six goals and one assist in the victory. “He got a lot of defensive reps today and took the team, as he should, on his shoulders. He was a great leader there so we didn’t freak out.”
The Tiger defense had a good day, led by sophomore Ben Kahn and freshman goalie Sam Gibb.
“Ben was picking up the ground balls,” said Casto. “Sam has taken his lumps as a freshman but he made some big saves in big moments.”
Heading into the CVC quarterfinal, Casto sensed that the win over Hun would give PHS momentum.
“We try to ride it like you try to ride big wins and try to build on it and just put the effort into practice,” said Casto. “It is staying with the basics and the fundamentals.”
In Casto’s view, the Tigers have shown character as they have stuck with things this spring through the ups and downs.
“We have a little fight, this is how they have been since day one,” said Casto. “They wanted to play with each other, they support each other and play all the way to the end. They are a little tighter and we are finding people to fill roles that we didn’t know they would be filling. That helps you to work harder and work to the end. These are guys you have been with and you are fired up to play with. The culture of this team has been fantastic, they show up every day.”
Barlag, for his part, has relished taking a bigger role on the team over the course of his PHS career.
“I started as an off-ball guy and kept climbing my first two years and then last year I started to get it going,” said Barlag, who now has 38 goals and eight assists this season. “Then this year it is just trying to be the best leader I can. It is my last year playing lacrosse so it is just go out there and have as much fun as I can.”