ALL IN: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse player Alex Famiglietti heads upfield in recent action. Junior midfielder Famiglietti tallied two goals and one assist as ninth-seeded PHS fell 13-10 to eighth-seeded Northern Highlands in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 3 tournament on May 24. The defeat left the Tigers with a final record of 11-8. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It proved to be an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team as it played at Northern Highlands in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 3 tournament.

Last year, PHS headed up to Northern Highlands in the NJSIAA opener and lost 14-12.

In the 2024 state tourney rematch on May 24, the ninth-seeded Tigers found themselves in another nail-biter with eighth-seeded Northern Highlands as the foes were locked in a 9-9 stalemate heading into the fourth quarter.

PHS head coach Chip Casto liked where his team was at coming into the final 12 minutes of regulation.

“We thought we had figured out something defensively,” said Casto. “We started to play a zone later in the game, but then they actually figured the zone out and scored two quick goals on us. That put us on our heels.”

The Tigers ultimately couldn’t overcome that burst as they fell 13-10 to end the spring with an 11-8 record.

Casto had no qualms with the effort he got from his players in the finale.

“We were winning face-offs, ground balls,” said Casto. “We did all of the right things, but didn’t finish it when we got the opportunities. They followed instructions — they scrapped as hard as they could.”

PHS did a lot of good things this spring, posting regular season wins over Notre Dame, Hopewell Valley, Allentown, and Princeton Day School and advancing to the final of the Mercer County Tournament for the first time since 2017.

“That is a big goal. Now that that tournament is over, it is kind of sad,” said Casto of the MCT, which will be discontinued after this spring with a Colonial Valley Conference tourney to be held in its place. “It will be fun to be in the CVC, you want to win that.”

Casto had fun watching his senior group this spring. “They put a lot of work and effort in. Patrick Kenah was an outstanding leader,” said Casto. “He learned under the tutelage of Will Doran (a 2022 PHS grad) and just kept that going. It is a sort of a Doran/Kenah era coming to a close.”

Kenah, a Lafayette commit, produced outstanding play at attack, scoring 108 points this spring on 61 goals and 47 assists and ending up with 372 points in his PHS career on 217 goals and 155 assists.

“Patrick is as much of a competitor as anybody I have coached,” said Casto. “He plays through all sorts of injuries. He is always getting beat on but he keeps coming back. I am really excited to see him at Lafayette.”

Two other seniors — Jason Singer (23 goals, 12 assists in 2024) and Robbie Sifon (4 goals, 4 assists, 19 ground balls) — competed hard in the midfield.

“Jason played attack last year, I thought he was a middie,” said Casto. “His left hand is pretty lethal when it is clicking. We leaned on him coming off that wing, he did as well as I thought he could do. Robbie is the biggest surprise of the year. He is fast, he is tough, he is smart. He didn’t say a word, he just kept running out on shifts for us. He cleared the ball for us, he shut down high-end middies for us. He did a lot.”

At the defensive end, seniors Anthony Famiglietti, James Reynolds, and Graham Baird, shored up things.

“Anthony had an unfortunate injury late in the year that really hurt us,” said Casto. “He was a strong presence defensively. He is a tough-minded, tough lacrosse player. James played down low and at longstick midfield. He ended up getting better and better as the year went on, helping us clear the ball. Baird was hurt early, we didn’t have him for a while. He ended up playing very well for us against Northern Highlands, winning face-offs and scoring a goal. He was just sort of getting up to speed and ready to roll and the season ended.”

In goal, senior Kian Bragg worked hard to get up to speed as he started the spring as a field player before moving into the cage.

“It is the hardest thing you can do — he willingly stepped in and put some time in,” said Casto. “We were shooting on him. He was hitting the film, he put in a quality effort. He ended up being a very good goalie outside the cage, he could handle the ball. He filled that role as best we thought he could.”

The Tigers boast a lot of quality in their group of returners.

“We got some guys integrated, with a lot more sophomores, players that I didn’t know last year as freshmen,” said Casto, who took a hiatus from coaching last year as he was on a sabbatical in Spain. “The sophomore class took a big step forward, guys like Declan Hughes (8 goals, 4 assists), Carmine Carusone (145-of-246 on face-offs), Quinn Solvibile, and Nico Pisapia. The junior class is small but it is pretty rock-solid with Braden Barlag (52 goals, 16 assists), Alex Famiglietti (24 goals, 20 assists), and Brendan Beatty (40 goals, 54 assists). We have a goalie in Corbin Kasziba and Jack Crotty on defense. The freshmen class was 13, 14, they seem to be committed and ready to get better. We are looking good.”

Casto is confident that his players will keep working to get better.

“The focus is just playing as much lacrosse as you can but we always promote our multi-sport athletes,” said Casto. “If they are playing something, they should keep playing. Big-game experience in any sport is helpful.”

Returning to coaching after his year in Spain, Casto relished being back in the game.

“I thought about it for a while, but then I figured, ‘I am in Spain, so I just have to be in Spain,’” said Casto. “But when I got back, it hits you that I have spent a lot of time on the sideline. It feels comfortable and it feels great to be around a young bunch of kids that want to work hard.”