STILL ROARING: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse star Rory -Helstrom heads to goal last Saturday against Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the North Group 3 state tournament quarterfinals. Helstrom chipped in a goal and three assists as PHS rallied for a 10-9 victory over the fourth-seeded Raiders. The Little Tigers, now 12-4, play at top-seeded Northern Highlands on May 25 in the semis. (Photo by John Dowers)

Rory Helstrom has enjoyed some great moments on the Princeton High turf field, starring as an all-county running back in football and a hard-charging midfielder in lacrosse.

Last Wednesday, as the fifth-seeded PHS boys’ lax team hosted 11th-seeded Wayne Valley in the opening round of the North Group 3 tournament, Helstrom hit that field with some extra emotion.

“This was my last home game here so it meant something more to me,” said Helstrom.

The game also meant a lot to Wayne Valley and it jumped out to a 4-2 lead with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter.

“They came out well, they knew what to do against us,” said Helstrom. “We kind of sat back with them scoring in the beginning.”

PHS, though, responded, with a 5-0 run to end the half and then held on for an 11-8 victory.

“We came back, which was good,” said Helstrom, who ended the day with three goals and an assist. “We were moving the ball on offense and not making bad passes. On defense we were pressuring them and taking the ball away.”

Helstrom’s first tally came with 1:25 left in the first half, giving the Little Tigers a 7-4 lead heading into intermission.

“I just saw the guy sliding off and I was open,” said Helstrom, reflecting on the goal. “I saw net so I shot it.”

PHS kept shooting in the third quarter as it increased the lead to 10-6.

“We kind of figured out their defense and what they were going to do,” said Helstrom. “We started to work our offense according to them.”

Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter as Wayne Valley cut the lead to 10-8 with 8:10 left in regulation.

“We were just tired but we held on; they came to make it a two-goal game,” said Helstrom.

“They are a good team; it is better than the first round wins have had in previous years.”

Helstrom helped PHS get another win in the quarterfinal round as the Little Tigers rallied for a 10-9 victory over fourth-seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood last Saturday.

“We need to come out strong because the whole season, we have been down in the beginning of a lot of games,” said Helstrom, who got a goal and three assists in the victory and will look to have another big game when PHS, now 12-4, plays at top-seeded Northern Highlands in the sectional semis on May 25. “So if we came out strong, starting in the warmups we can do well.”

PHS head coach Chip Casto expected Helstrom to do well in his home finale.

“Rory had some big goals, some big ground balls,” said Casto. “This is his last home game ever in any sport at PHS so I think that affected him a little. He was very fired up in the locker room too. It is funny; it slaps them in the face, they start to see how things change.”

Casto knew that Wayne Valley had the potential to slap PHS in the face. “North Jersey teams are tested, they had nine losses but they play hard up there,” said Casto. “They came down and did what they do well.”

The Little Tigers fine-tuned their play on defense in order to turn the tide of the contest.

“We made an adjustment to double pole their attackers, “ said Casto. “It seemed to calm them down a little and we got a couple of transition things.”

Down the stretch, PHS got an insurance goal from Eamonn McDonald and some key stops from goalie Leo Godefroy to hold off Wayne Valley.

“It was holding on tight,” said Casto with a nervous chuckle as he reflected on the closing moments of the contest. “Rory was patient enough to see a secondary cut so that was a nice finish by Eamonn. Leo looked a little shaky in the beginning but he is a competitor and he turned it around and he made some real big saves.”

In Casto’s view, surviving the challenge posed by Wayne Valley could propel PHS to a nice run in states.

“We are glad to get out of it and in a way it is good, we got a test and we have got some things we can chew on our team about in practices so they don’t just relax,” said Casto.

“We need to finish those opportunities that we didn’t finish today. We have to capitalize on the opportunities given to us and just tighten up that defense a little.”

Helstrom and classmate Nick Halliday, the team’s lone seniors, are hoping to guide PHS to a big finish.

“We are trying to keep everyone positive,” said Helstrom. “The younger kids get confused sometimes and don’t know what to do and get angry so Nick and I try keep them in line.”