Princeton High Boys' Lacrosse Team Wins State Opener

Unable to win the Mercer County Tournament, the Princeton High boys lacrosse team has moved on to its next goal.  

Princeton opened the state playoffs at home on Tuesday with a 6-4 win over West Windsor South.

"We were extremely worried about this game (after the tough loss in the MCT final)," Princeton Coach Pete Stanton said. "It's to the kids credit that they were able to keep their composure. They responded well and kept up the fight.

"For me, the real character game was the win over Hopewell."

Princeton was defeated by Notre Dame, 8-7, in overtime in the MCT title game on May 18.

Mike Hellstern, Alex Rifkin. Will Kister, Pat Lynch, Coleman Preziosi and Kirby Peck all scored during that game.

Two days later, Princeton defeated Hopewell, 12-4, as Kister and Bassel Hashem both scored four goals.

That game allowed Princeton to regroup and get some momentum going into its state contest with West Windsor South.

"It was extremely important that we put the county loss behind us and got ready for the states," Hashem said. "A lot of teams might have gotten down on themselves after the county loss. We didn't."

Hashem scored two goals in the first half to help Princeton build a 4-2 lead by intermission. Matt Purdy and Kirby Peck also had first-half goals. Kister had three assists.

Hashem was thrilled by the quick start because he was a little worried about this contest.

"It was actually scary to play (West Windsor South) again," Hashem said. "This is the fourth time we played them this year and we won the first three. It's hard to beat someone four times. They know what we were going to do. In addition to playing us before, they were also scouting our games. They were prepared for us."

Fortunately, based on the quick start, Princeton was also prepared for the start of this contest.

Princeton never surrendered that advantage as Hellstern and Rifkin added goals in the third quarter. Griffin Peck added some key saves in goal in the fourth quarter to stop any comeback hopes of West Windsor South.

"This is the first step on to bigger and better things," Hashem said.

Princeton will play at Ridge on May 26 in its next state game.

"Winning the Mercer County Tournament was definitely a goal, but it was just one of them," Stanton said. "We're 14-4-1 and we have already knocked off a lot of our goals. Going far in the state tournament is also a goal."