BORN TO RUN: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse player Leah Bornstein races upfield last Friday as PHS played at Stuart Country Day School. Sophomore midfielder Bernstein scored two goals to help the Tigers prevail 19-4 over the Tartans. PHS, which fell 17-5 to Lawrenceville last Monday to move to 2-1, plays at WW/P-South on April 10, hosts Princeton Day School on April 12, and plays at Montgomery on April 13. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Leah Bornstein may be one of the shortest players on the field, but she is making a big impact for the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team this spring.

Emerging as a spark in the midfield, Bornstein tallied five goals as PHS opened the season by topping WW/P-North 23-8 on April 1 and then chipped in two goals as the Tigers defeated Stuart Country Day School 19-4 last Friday.

“I bring a lot of stamina, I like to chase down the ball,” said Bornstein who also competes for the Ultimate Lacrosse club program. “I like to use my speed to my advantage because a lot of people underestimate me. I am helping out in the midfield, just assisting as much as I can and getting possession.”

In the win over Stuart, PHS dominated possession, moving the ball deftly as it jumped out to a 5-0 lead 10 minutes into the contest.

“We were becoming confident after our game against West Windsor on Monday; we came out really strong,” said Bornstein. “We did a good job of working the ball around to everybody and giving everyone scoring opportunities. We definitely have balance.”

Bornstein credits the squad’s senior group with setting a positive tone that leads to the unselfish play.

“They are a really good influence,” said Bornstein. “They have been really welcoming and encouraging and not afraid to share the ball on the field.”

PHS head coach Katie Federico enjoyed watching her players move the ball in the win over the Tartans.

“I love the connections that they are making and the fact that many of our goals are coming off of assists which is beautiful,” said Federico. “It is very unselfish play.”

The PHS defense produced some good play against Stuart.

“I also love the way our defense has just played as one unit, it is so nice to see that out there,” said Federico, citing the work of Joci Lee, Theona Hsu, Avery Gallagher, Zoie Reynolds, and Julia Engelhart. “You can just intertwine them in any away and they work very nicely.”

It has been nice for Federico to see how Bornstein has improved from last year.

“Every time I am on the sideline, it is there goes Leah again, she really has made progress,” said Federico. “She gives the same amount of effort from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. She goes 110 percent. She is going for the ground balls, she has got the assists. She and Quinn [Gallagher] have connected a couple of times, it is so nice to see her playing this way. Her confidence is there a lot more this year. Last year, she was just trying to find her spot. A lot of the girls play club together and they did the winter league. I think that gave her the extra boost that she needed to be out there and run the midfield.”

Senior star Riley Devlin has been giving the Tigers a major boost in the midfield, tallying six goals and three assists in the season opener and then adding four goals against Stuart.

“Riley is such a leader on the field, she loves being able to help the underclassmen; it was the help that she had when she was an underclassman,” said Federico of Devlin, who scored four goals as PHS fell 17-5 to Lawrenceville last Monday. “Seeing that and just the confidence that she has out there, I think is very inspiring to a lot of the other players. She knows when she can take that drive she has got it and, if not,
she looks for that teammate and fits the pass there so
it is a nice combo.”

With PHS playing at WW/P-South on April 10, hosting Princeton Day School on April 12, and then playing at Montgomery on April 13, Federico knows her squad will have to produce some inspired efforts to come through with wins in those contests.

“It has been really nice, you can see that there is just a connection between all of them,” said Federico. “They work well together,
it is like a well-oiled machine at the moment with everything. There are a lot of challenging games coming up, it has been great.”

Bornstein, for her part, believes that posting two big wins to start the spring is a harbinger of good things to come for PHS as it looks to bounce back from a disappointing 7-12 campaign in 2023.

“It is definitely a confidence builder for us,” said Bornstein. “I have a good feeling about this year — I am excited. We are striving to be over .500 this year for sure.”