MAKING STRIDES: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse player Chase Gallagher races upfield in a game earlier this season. Last Thursday, freshman attacker/midfielder Gallagher tallied a goal and scooped up two ground balls to help PHS defeat Lawrence High 11-3. The Tigers, who defeated WW/P-South 14-0 last Monday to improve to 9-6 and post their sixth win in seven games, will next be in action when they start play this week in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament. The Tigers are seeded fourth in the CVC tourney and will host 13th-seeded WW/P-North in a first round contest on May 7. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

It took a few weeks for Chase Gallagher to get into a groove this spring in his freshman season for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team.

In his first four games for PHS, attacker/midfielder Gallagher didn’t score a goal and had just two assists.

But starting with tallying one goal and an assist on an 18-4 win over Pennington on April 14, Gallagher caught fire. In his next six games, Gallagher tallied 10 goals and two assists.

In reflecting on his surge, Gallagher pointed to an increased comfort level with his teammates.

“I am new to this team, I didn’t know a lot of the guys,” said Gallagher. “I am getting used to them and they are getting used to me. I am playing a lot better with them. I have been shooting a lot at home so that put up my confidence a lot.”

Last Thursday against Lawrence High, Gallagher displayed his shooting prowess as he fired in a second quarter goal to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead as they pulled away to an 11-3 win.

“I saw that the whole goal was wide open so I shot it and hoped for the best,” said Gallagher, who also scooped up two ground balls in the victory.

Coming into the game, Gallagher and his classmates were ready to play a bigger role.

“We had an event so we couldn’t play some of the older guys and we were shorthanded,” said Gallagher. “We have a lot of young guys Coach (Chip Casto) wanted to put them in to better learn the offense.”

In moving up to the varsity level, Gallagher has been learning a lot this spring.

“It was a massive jump, it is a lot faster and the players are a lot stronger,” said Gallagher, whose older sister, Quinn, a senior star for the PHS girls’ lax team has given him some tips as he has adjusted to high school lax. “I have gotten used to that. I have to get into the gym more and increase my strength.”

Having seen action last fall for the PHS football varsity squad that is coached by his father, Charlie Gallagher, has helped the younger Gallagher hold his own.

“That has definitely increased some of my toughness,” said Gallagher. “A couple of the guys who play football are on the team and it is showing. They are a lot better.”

With the win over Lawrence giving the Tigers a five-game winning streak, Gallagher sees the team’s surge as a product of some focused training.

“The coaches have been making us work at practice,” said Gallagher. “We have been working on the little things like ground balls, the passes and not making bad decisions. It is the fundamentals.”

PHS head coach Casto credited his younger players with doing some good things in the win over Lawrence.

“That was the whole idea, it was like a developmental day with no disrespect to Lawrence,” said Casto, who got a goal and an assist from freshman Mason Merse with fellow first year players Cooper Casto (the coach’s son), John Monica, and Morton Whitlow scoring one apiece.

“Some guys have been working hard in practice and this was the chance to let them play. Merse is moving up the ladder. Cooper did well, he scored a goal. Morton has been working hard. He can be a big player for us.”

Gallagher has been making a big impact in his debut campaign for the Tigers.

“It is just confidence and the green light; we are letting him go,” said Casto of Gallagher, who now has 13 goals and six assists on the season after tallying a goal and assist on Monday as PHS defeated WW/P-South 14-0 and improved to 9-6. “We are using him all over the place more than we thought. He deserves everything he is doing. He has been great.”

As for the PHS defense, seniors Quinn Solvable and Ryan Garlock led the way against Lawrence.

“Quinn was all over the place,” said Casto. “We are starting to mature a little. Ryan is anchoring the defense and playing so well. He is a senior who is really taking advantage of this being his final season. He is doing great.”

The team’s goalie rotation of senior Jacob Topolewski and sophomore Sam Gibb has also sparked the Tiger defensive unit.

“We are still splitting with the goalies,” said Casto. “The goalies are both playing well enough to play. If you have two, you might as well use them. It can throw the other team off every once in a while to face a new goalie. One is right-handed, one is left-handed.”

Reflecting on his squad’s recent surge, Casto attributed it to focusing on the basics.

“It is just a little more confidence,” said Casto. “We have really been hammering home picking up the ball and making the easy passes. We were offsides five times last game so we worked on that and that seemed to show up a little here. It is these type of fundamentals.”

Casto pointed to wins over Hopewell Valley (9-6 on April 23) and Allentown (7-6 on April 28) as confidence builders for the Tigers.

“That was a good scrap with HoVal and then Allentown four days ago, that was a great scrap,” said Casto, whose team is 6-1 in its last seven games.

Looking ahead to starting play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament where PHS is seeded fourth and will host 13th-seeded WW/P-North in a first round contest on May 7, Casto is fired up for the scraps ahead.

“It is just continuing to do the fundamentals and play good defense,” said Casto. “Robbinsville has a guy who can shoot. Notre Dame has a guy who can shoot. Allentown has a guy who can shoot. We are in the mix for sure. We are probably the least powerful offensively of that group so we need to be efficient with the ball and just play good defense.”

Gallagher, for his part, believes that sticking to the fundamentals is key to a good postseason run.

“It is the little things,” said Gallagher. “I know we have been working on them but we have to continue to work on them if we want to continue to play.”