FAST START: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse player Leah Bornstein heads upfield in recent action. Last Monday, senior attacker Bornstein tallied four goals and three assists to help PHS defeat WW/P-North 15-13. The Tigers, now 3-0, play at Hopewell Valley on April 8, host Robbinsville on April 11, host Lenape on April 13, and then play at WW/P-South on April 14. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
For Kait Birnbohm-Kaminski, starring at field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse during her career at Seneca High was a labor of love.
“It was awesome,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski. “It helped me be a better student. I always felt that I was more on top of my work with all of the sports that I had to play. I loved whatever sport or season I was in.”
Birnbohm-Kaminski went on play lacrosse at Bryant University for two years from 2018-20.
“I gained a lot of lacrosse knowledge,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski. “It was my first time playing one sport year-round. It was awesome. I love how much skill I was able to grow.”
Deciding that she wanted to get into education, Birnbohm-Kaminski returned to the Garden State as she transferred to The College of New Jersey and joined its women’s lax program.
“I loved it, it was just phenomenal,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski.
“Coach [Sharon] Pfluger was a household name. My mom played there. I never thought that I would be playing for coach but I was and it was so great. It was so caring and I had a lot of good coaching. The team was really intense and fun and I liked that.”
While she was playing, Birnbohm-Kaminski started dabbling in coaching.
“I actually always coached something,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski.
“In my freshman year of college I was coaching juniors in high school helping out with club lacrosse with my home team. I had such a great experience. I did that almost every summer. That was what helped me decide that I liked working with this age group. I love being outside and coaching and I knew I could be interested in education too.”
This spring, Birnbohm-Kaminski is bringing that knowledge and passion to the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team as she has taken the helm of the program, succeeding Katie Federico as head coach after she guided the Tigers to a 12-10 record in 2025.
“I enthusiastically love sports,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski, who teaches AP Biology and Human Anatomy at WW/P-South and also served as an assistant coach for the PHS girls’ basketball team this past winter and helped it win the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament. “It has just been such a positive environment. The energy of the girls is just so lovely. The girls have been wonderful.”
The Tigers have gotten off to a positive start this spring, going 3-0 as they topped Notre Dame 10-9 on March 30, edged Northern Burlington 17-14 last Thursday and then defeated WW/P-North 15-13 on Monday.
The one-two punch of seniors Quinn Gallagher and Leah Bornstein in the midfield has helped PHS get rolling out of the gate. Gallagher, a University of Delaware commit, has tallied eight goals and 13 assists so far this season while Bornstein, who will be joining the Catholic University women’s lax team this fall, has scored 14 goals with five assists.
“Quinn and Leah are definitely impactful players on both sides offense and defense,” said Birnboum-Kaminski. “Quinn is a great vocal leader for us. She is doing a really good job. She is on the draw, she is playing defense and she is a fantastic passer. She knows people’s strengths as well and that helps her feed. Leah’s finishing is looking great. She is so dynamic in the midfield on both sides.”
Junior Emerson Barker is joining Gallagher and Bornstein in the midfield.
“Emerson is very consistent and she is strong,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski of Barker, who has six goals and one assist this spring. “She is playing our other midfield spot and on the draw. She works well with the others.”
On attack, senior Gracie DePrince, senior Nicki Lee, junior Clare Barlag, and sophomore Maddie Pepek have been working well together.
“We have Gracie, she is a nice leader for us in attack,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski. “Nicki plays down low for us. She is very steady and has great stick skills. Clare is good for us on attack and will play mid for us too and so will Maddie.”
A pair of seniors, Zoie Reynolds and Marisa Consoli, along with sophomore Liora Spiegel, will be spearheading the Tiger defensive unit.
“Zoie and Marisa are looking great, they are leading our defense and doing a great job,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski. “Liora is like a sponge, she picks things up really quickly.”
In goal, junior Paige Menapace is poised for a big spring. “Paige is back, her strength as a goalie is her calmness,” said Birnboum-Kaminski. “She is very level-headed which is wonderful. She is willing to learn new things and try stuff out. She connects well on the clears with the defenders too which is nice.”
In order for PHS to maintain its winning tradition, the team’s veterans will need to lead the way.
“We have all of those seniors,” said Birnbohm-Kaminski, whose team hosts Robbinsville on April 11, hosts Lenape on April 13, and then plays at WW/P-South on April 14. “They have a lot of experience and they are great leaders. They really understand each other and they are nurturing the underclassmen too.”