BACK STAGE: Princeton High field hockey player Lila Doran controls the ball in a game earlier this season. Junior defender Doran’s stellar work on the back line has helped PHS get off to a 5-0 start. In upcoming action, the Little Tigers host Hamilton West on September 27, Hightstown on September 29, and Hopewell Valley on October 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Lila Doran is determined to make noise on the back line this fall for the Princeton High field hockey team. “Being in the center of the field, I can see everything,” said junior defender Doran. “I try to direct the wing defenders and be a leader of communication.”

Last Friday against visiting Allentown, PHS communicated well in the first half, stifling the Redbirds and taking a 1-0 lead into intermission.

“I thought we managed that stress pretty well,” said Doran. “Basically our goal is to clear it to the sidelines and into space. We worked really well as a unit and we were communicating.”

After the Little Tigers extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second half, things got a little more stressful after Allentown scored with 7:05 remaining in regulation to make it a one-goal contest. PHS, though, held the fort to earn a 2-1 victory.

“That was a little bit nerve-wracking but I think we just stayed pretty calm,” said Doran. “We know what to do under high pressure situations so it was keep our sticks down and get the ball out of there.”

With the Little Tigers losing star defender Lily Leonard and star goalie Kate Rogers to graduation from last year’s team, there was pressure on Doran and the new faces on the back line to excel.

“We lost a pretty central part of our defense,” said Doran. “We have had a really good start; I am proud of what we have been doing. We have a younger group.”

PHS head coach Heather Serverson is proud of how Doran has been handling things in the back.

“Lila is solid, she is smart,” said Serverson. “She makes really good decisions and she is a great communicator, especially with our less experienced defenders back there. She provides a consistency that turns out into a nice flow moving up the field as well. It helps all of us.”

Junior goalie Grace Cooke has been solid in the cage, stepping into a starting role.

“Grace has been working so hard and it is clearly paying off,” said Serverson of Cooke, who had seven saves in the win over Allentown.

“She has been doing a phenomenal job in the cage. Last year she didn’t get in there a whole lot because we had Kate Rogers. This is her first varsity experience.”

The Little Tigers have been doing a good job of spreading the wealth at the offensive end.

“We were just meshing really well together as a team; they are playing together as opposed to individuals and not relying on one particular player,” said Serverson who got goals from seniors Isabel Kinney and Emilia Ferrante against the Redbirds with senior Renee Hoevers picking up an assist. “We are really distributing the ball around to lots of players and changing our approach on our goal.”

That balance is a product of a good team chemistry. “If a team gets along, it plays together,” added Serverson. “They clearly enjoy playing together.”

In Serverson’s view, PHS has the chance to enjoy a big season.

“We need to keep working as hard as we have in practice,  remain consistent, take it one game at a time, and not get too wrapped up on who we are playing,” said Serverson, whose team hosts Hamilton West on September 27, Hightstown on September 29, and Hopewell Valley on October 2. “As long as we play our game, I think we are going to be successful whatever that turns into.”

Doran, for her part, sees success on the horizon for the Little Tigers.

“We have had a great start,” said Doran. “I think we could go really far in the postseason as long as we keep the positivity up and continue to play as a team like we have been doing.”