ASSISTING HAND: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse player Shaylah Marciano gathers in the ball during a recent game. Last Saturday, sophomore star Marciano tallied nine points on four goals and five assists as fourth-seeded PHS defeated fifth-seeded Princeton Day School 21-11 in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament. Marciano, who leads the state in assists with 60, passed the 100-assist mark in her career in the win over the Panthers. The Little Tigers, now 8-8, were slated to face top-seeded Lawrenceville in the MCT semis on May 8 with the victor advancing to the title game on May 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Shaylah Marciano, playing goalie in soccer and point guard in basketball has given her a better perspective on the field for the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team.

“As a point guard in basketball, it is kind of my job to be able to see everybody and where everyone is going,” said sophomore midfielder Marciano. “In soccer, being able to see the whole field really opens up things.”

Last Saturday against fifth-seeded Princeton Day School in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament, Marciano helped fourth-seeded PHS break open a tight 4-4 contest, sparking a 9-0 run as the Little Tigers built a 13-5 halftime lead.

“It is a big rivalry; they always come out strong and I think the rivalry brings the best game in both of us so it was really important that we kept pushing and playing our best,” said Marciano. “That was an awesome run.”

The Little Tigers pulled away to a 21-11 win, improving to 8-8. PHS is slated to face top-seeded Lawrenceville in the MCT semis on May 8 with the victor advancing to the title game on May 10.

“It was really fun. They still put up a really good fight because they are a great team,” said Marciano, reflecting on the second half performance against PDS. “We kept finding each other, which is what we have really improved on.”

Marciano’s ability to find her teammates helped her hit a personal milestone against the Panthers as she recorded the 100th assist of her career.

“It is awesome. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates because they put it in the back of the net,” said Marciano, who ended up with four goals and five assists in the win and now leads the state in assists with 60. “Even if I make a bad pass, they are always there to grab it and stick in the net.”

PHS head coach Sara Doran credits Marciano with being a key catalyst for the Little Tigers.

“Shaylah is invaluable; she is just a beautiful player,” said Doran. “The fact that she has 100 assists speaks to her and what a team player she is. She knows when to go to goal and when to look for the other player; she does that so well. As a sophomore, she has really taken on a leadership role on the field.”

Doran liked the way her players kept going to goal as they weathered the early storm from PDS.

“We have been up and the other team has come back,” said Doran. “Today, they didn’t allow that to get themselves down and they just kept pressing, kept trusting each other, and looking for each other. The transitions looked really nice. All around, I am really proud of their effort and proud of them really working together. It is a big win for us.”

Working together on attack led to a balanced scoring attack against the Panthers as Mariana Lopez-Ona tallied five goals with Kathryn DeMilt and Marciano both adding four goals and Abaigeal Ryan chipping in three.

“When I look at the goals and the assists, it is really spread through the offense,” said  Doran

“We do have a lot of threats, so if a team tries to focus on one or two players, we have other other girls who can score and we really made use of that today. That is what we are going to have to do going forward.”

Looking ahead to the clash with Lawrenceville in the MCT semis and the state tourney down the road, Doran believes her team will build on its performance against PDS.

“This is a good confidence builder for us, going into playing Lawrenceville and the state tournament,” said Doran. “We needed this good win. It was awesome to just play our game and thought we did that really well today.”

In Marciano’s view, battling through a 1-5 start against some formidable foes helped PHS hone its game for postseason play.

“We really did have a tough schedule, but that ability to keep up with those top 20 teams was a big confidence booster for us,” said Marciano. 

“We have just kept improving throughout the season. Our trust for each other has grown so much; we have just been able to find each other.”