FACE DOWN: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse goalie Mira Shane faces down a shooter in a game last season. Last Thursday, senior star and Michigan-bound Shane made 16 saves in a losing cause as fifth-seeded PHS lost 5-4 to top-seeded and eventual champion Notre Dame in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals. On Monday, Shane made 14 saves as PHS fell 10-8 to Hopewell Valley in a regular season contest to drop to 8-12. The Little Tigers will be starting action in the state tournament this week where they are seeded ninth in the North Group 3 sectional and will play at eighth-seeded Roxbury in a first round contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Mira Shane didn’t waste any time showing that she meant business as the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team played at Notre Dame in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals last Thursday.

The PHS senior star goalie repelled three Notre Dame shots in the first two minutes of the contest.

That was just the beginning of a sensational performance by the Michigan-bound Shane, who went on to make 16 saves, including several point blank stops against the high-powered Irish attack.

Shane’s heroics, though weren’t enough as the fifth-seeded Little Tigers dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker to top-seeded and eventual champion Notre Dame.

PHS head coach David Schlesinger lauded Shane’s performance. “Mira is amazing; she is so athletic and so quick,” said Schlesinger, who consoled Shane afterward as the goalie slumped over in tears near the team huddle after giving her all physically and emotionally.

“Her understanding of the position has grown so much this year, the way she plays angles and now she is a step ahead of the shooters. She knows what she wants to give up. She is forcing the shooters to shoot where she wants them to shoot. She is an amazing leader, a great player.”

In reflecting on the defeat, Schlesinger acknowledged that his team misfired as it dug a 3-1 hole at halftime.

“I thought we could do a little bit more offensively,” said Schlesinger. “We struggled a little bit in the first half moving the ball the way we wanted to. In the second half, it started to click. It was a great battle.”

PHS did get a great offensive effort from rising star Jordyn Cane, who scored three goals on the evening.

“Jordyn has stepped up and is playing the best lacrosse of her life,” asserted Schlesinger. “She is a marvelously talented player with great speed, great stick skills, and a great head for the game.”

While the PHS players were teary-eyed and glum after the setback, Schlesinger saw a major positive in the way they stepped up their intensity.

“I am just so proud of them,” said Schlesinger, whose squad lost 10-8 to fellow MCT semifinalist Hopewell Valley last Monday in a regular season meeting to drop to 8-12.

“This is why you coach, to help kids learn about themselves and give a level of effort they never thought was possible. I thought our effort was tremendous and I am really happy for them even though they are all disappointed right now.”

With the state tournament on the horizon, Schlesinger believes that the effort his team gave against Notre Dame bodes well.

“We are playing good lacrosse right now,” said Schlesinger, whose squad is seeded ninth in the North Group 3 sectional and will play at eighth-seeded Roxbury in a first round contest.

“We are all banged up; we have got two girls with concussions and another girl with a high ankle sprain so we are very short of players right now. For us to have to kind of effort, that kind of performance was great.”