GOAL ORIENTED: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse star Emilia Lopez-Ona heads to goal last Friday in PHS’s 11-9 win over Allentown. Sophomore star Lopez-Ona scored eight goals in the contest which matched teams who came into the day undefeated. Last Monday, Lopez-Ona fired in 10 goals as PHS edged Hopewell Valley 18-16 in improving to 6-0. In upcoming action, the Little Tigers host WW/P-S on April 18, play at WW/P-N on April 21, and then have a rematch at ­Allentown on April 23. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

As a freshman last spring on the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team, Emilia Lopez-Ona didn’t attract a lot of attention from opposing defenders.

“I was playing behind two upperclassmen attackers and they were both amazing scorers,” said Lopez-Ona.

“They got the top defenders on them and I was able to score that way with the weaker defenders.”

Coming into her sophomore season, the willowy Lopez-Ona knew she would have to carry more of the offensive load for the Little Tigers and she prepared accordingly.

“This year, I definitely have to step up on the offense and in the midfield; it is a bigger role,” added Lopez-Ona. “I worked a lot in the offseason. I play for Building Blocks lacrosse.”

Last Friday, Lopez-Ona’s work paid huge dividends for PHS as she scored eight goals to help the Little Tigers edge Allentown 11-9 in a battle of teams who came into the day undefeated.

When PHS fell behind 8-5 late in the first half, it looked like Allentown was on the verge of pulling away from the Little Tigers.

But Lopez-Ona took matters into her own hands, scoring three unanswered goals as PHS knotted the game at 8-8 heading into halftime.

“I think being down and being able to come back with another few goals and work on it as a team, chipping away at that, really psyched us up coming into the second half,” recalled Lopez-Ona.

In the second half, the Little Tigers showed patience, holding the ball for long stretches and picking their spots as they took a 10-8 lead and then held off the Redbirds down the stretch.

“We knew Allentown was going to be our toughest game,” said Lopez-Ona, who tallied two of PHS’s second half goals and assisted on the other.

“It definitely gives a lot more confidence and our confidence builds through the season. We thrive off of that.”

Lopez-Ona’s on-field connection with senior star and Amherst College-bound Mia Haughton gives her additional confidence.

“I think a lot of it is that we have compatible skills,” explained Lopez-Ona, who scored 10 goals last Monday in an 18-16 win over Hopewell Valley as the Little Tigers improved to 6-0.

“She is an amazing feeder, she can feed from any release point. She knows where to put the ball. I am pretty good at getting open and finishing.”

PHS head coach Christie Cooper felt pretty good about her team’s chances even when it was on its heels in the first half.

“I wasn’t concerned; we might have gone up two and then they came back and I said to my assistant coach, this is going to be a game of ups and downs and that’s OK,” said Cooper.

“You have those in lacrosse and that’s good. It is what you can do when you are down that determines what the outcome is going to be.”

Having Lopez-Ona can certainly tilt the outcome in PHS’s favor. “Emilia is a smart player,” said Cooper, who got a goal and three assists from Haughton in the victory over Allentown with Elizabeth Jacobs and Chiara Favalaro chipping in the other goals.

“We can utilize all of our players on attack but it is always nice to know  that you have girls you can go to in a big game. It is not like I was telling her to do anything special. She finds that ball and gets it into the cage because she knows that is what we need at any given point.”

The performance of freshman goalie Mira Shane in the cage was another key factor in the Little Tigers’ win over Allentown.

“What makes her a good goalie is that she doesn’t follow steps, she just reacts to the ball,” said Cooper of Shane who had nine saves, including some point blank stops down the stretch.

“She isn’t trying to think I have to step here or I have to step there, she just reacts and that makes a great goalie. Every game she rises to the challenge; her age is not a factor at all. It is ‘OK who are we playing, who are their best players, where do they shoot, OK, ready.’ That is her mentality.”

While Cooper was excited by the way her team rose to the challenge collectively against Allentown, she knows there is a lot of lacrosse still to be played this spring.

“It is a great win but we play them again and there is a chance that we will see them in the Mercer County Tournament,” added Cooper.

“So it is great to win but it doesn’t mean much in the long run. It means a lot to them right now and it feels really good. It will help propel us into the next half of the season but it doesn’t make or break the rest of the season.”

In Cooper’s view, PHS has the ability to do some special things in the second half of the season.

“I think we have a lot of potential because we play like a team,” asserted Cooper, whose team hosts WW/P-S on April 18, plays at WW/P-N on April 21, and then has a rematch at Allentown on April 23.

“We work from our goalie down to our lowest attackers; that’s really important. It showed today with different players stepping up when other players were getting marked. You need to be able to do that in a tight game like that.”

Lopez-Ona, for her part, believes the team’s special chemistry could make the difference in the tight games ahead.

“We have lost a lot of seniors; I think we knew this was going to be a whole new year with a mix of returning players and new players,” said Lopez-Ona.

“We all know how big of a role team chemistry off the field is. So I think that using that knowledge from last year, we are able to put it into place this year, and it is definitely helping. These are my best friends. I think we have got a team with a lot of young potential mixed in with some older leadership.”