THIRD DEGREE: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Brooks Johnson marks a Hightstown attacker in the Mercer County Tournament championship game last Thursday. Senior star and Gettysburg College-bound defender Johnson helped key a stifling performance as second-seeded PDS defeated top-seeded Hightstown 9-3 to earn its third straight county crown and end the spring with 10-5 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Brooks Johnson and his teammates on the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team know how to handle the high-stakes atmosphere of the Mercer County Tournament championship game.

Having won county crowns in 2016 and 2017 and advancing to the final in 2015, the second-seeded Panthers brought a sense of calm to the field when they faced top-seeded Highstown in this year’s title game last Thursday at WW/P-North.

“Coming out here, we said let’s zone out the crowd, play our game and we will be fine,” said PDS senior defender Johnson. “It was don’t worry about any other stuff that comes with title games.”

There was some extra stuff going on for the Panthers, however, as the championship contest marked the final game for Johnson and his classmates as well as head coach Rich D’Andrea and assistant coach Rob Tuckman.

“The emotions were high, it was pretty sad for the seniors,” said Johnson. “We have a strong senior class and we are going to miss Tuck and Rich. They are the greatest coaches I have ever had, but it as their time to call it.”

Channeling the emotions, the PDS players applied the lessons they have learned from their coaches, executing at both ends of the field in building a 9-1 lead by halftime.

“We just played our game. Connor [Green] made the saves in goal like he always does,” said Johnson.

“We started off well. He made some big saves and we just kept going that way. We got the confidence from that.”

In the second half, the PDS defense stifled the Rams, snuffing out any chance of a rally on the way to a 9-3 victory.

“We just knew to do what we did in the first half, play our game, keep them out, and let Greenie get the shots that he wants to see, and we would be done,” said Johnson.

“We all play together, it is a big part of everything that we do. All of my defensemen are great: Jared Leveson, Dave Phillips, and Sam Bernardi. When one of us is feeling it, we are all feeling it. We feed off each other.”

Afterward, an emotional head coach D’Andrea reflected on a memorable PDS tenure with the raucous postgame celebration swirling around him.

“The one thing I have learned over time here is this program will long outlast the two of us,” said D’Andrea, who was doused with a bucket of ice water as his players basked in the glow of the title.

“I have been here for five, six years and this has been really special for me to see these seniors grow into who they are. You look at the bottom of our shirts and it says ‘together.’ This is a really, really tight group. I have been fortunate to play and coach at a number of levels and the PDS experience has been right at the top of the list. This has been a special group and special families together; they are very, very tight.”

Winning a third county crown was a fitting finale for D’Andrea. “I think it is a great opportunity for us to come in the end of the year,” said D’Andrea. “We were really excited for the challenge and played a couple of nice games at the end here.”

The Panthers jumped out to a 3-1 lead by the end of the first quarter against Rams and never lost control of the contest.

“We pushed at the right times and we were fortunate to put a couple into the back of the net,” said D’Andrea.

“Their goalie came up with some really great saves, but we were able to capitalize early and create some separation there that put us in our comfort zone.”

Utilizing its methodical offensive style, PDS displayed the balanced offense that has made it so formidable in recent years.

“It is pretty neat. You hear the guys yell ‘One more!’ all the time; it is a really selfless group,” said D’Andrea, who got two goals and two assists from senior star Elon Tuckman against Hightstown with junior standout Coby Auslander chipping in two goals and two assists, sophomore Cal Caputo scoring three goals, and sophomore Jake Bennett contributing one goal and two assists. 

“They are always looking for the next pass. It is really, really fun to watch. It is tough to defend and it is a strong balanced approach. Elon did an outstanding job this year.”

The defense was also outstanding as it thwarted the high-powered Rams. “Coach Tuckman has been running the defense for the last number of years here and he has got a lot of tools in his bag,” said D’Andrea.

“He does a great job scouting and our defensive unit knows the scouts going into it. They try to identify strengths and take them away. Our guys were able to execute it right away. Hightstown is exceptionally talented, they have a lot of goals this year.”

While PDS wasn’t exceptionally talented this season, it employed a high lax IQ to produce another championship campaign and a 10-5 record.

“We really challenge these kids to take ownership over the program, and every year, it is a little bit different,” said D’Andrea

“It is a moving target to what our needs are; this group certainly recognized that we were paper thin this year so we had to be smarter a lot of the time and fortunately we were able to do that today.”

D’Andrea feels fortunate to have guided the Panthers. “I have loved being part of this program,” said D’Andrea. “I consider all of the players as family; my kids have grown up around this family.”

Johnson, for his part, sees the family feeling as the highlight of his PDS experience.

“I will remember all the title games I played in and all of the championships that we won, obviously, but it is more just the great times we have all shared together,” said the Gettysburg College-bound Johnson. “It is really a brotherhood.”