TITLE SHOT: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse player Liz Jacobs looks for an opening last Thursday as second-seeded PHS hosted No. 3 Sparta in the North Jersey Group III sectional semifinals. Junior star and Dartmouth-bound Jacobs scored a game-high four goals to help PHS rally for a 12-9 win. The Little Tigers, now 18-3, will play at top-seeded Mendham on May 29 in the sectional final. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Liz Jacobs wasn’t about to let rain slow her down as she took the field last Thursday for the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team as it hosted Sparta in the North Jersey Group III sectional semifinals.

With a downpour hitting Harris Field, junior star Jacobs was sizzling, scoring three goals in the early going to keep second-seeded PHS in the game as it trailed No. 3 Sparta 7-5 at halftime.

“I was feeling it,” said Jacobs, reflecting on her hot start. “I was just so excited. I was looking forward to this game all week. Everyone was super excited. We had a dance party in the locker room before. We had a team lunch before.”

The Little Tigers were still excited even thought they trailed at halftime. “Our coach [Kelsey O’Gorman] was saying that two goals isn’t that much, we can totally come back,” recalled the Dartmouth-bound Jacobs.

“I don’t think we looked at it in a negative light like we were behind. I think we were just really encouraging each other and trying to go out strong the second half.”

PHS showed its strength in the second half, going on a 5-1 run through a deluge to seize control of the game on the way to a 12-9 win, earning a date with top-seeded Mendham in the sectional finals on May 29.

“That was amazing; we got the wind under our sails literally with the rain,” said Jacobs, in assessing PHS’s second half surge that lifted it to a record of 18-3.

“I am just really proud of all the girls for playing through it because there were times when we really couldn’t see.”

Jacobs is proud of what PHS has accomplished in advancing to the sectional finals.

“I just want to win,” said Jacobs, who ended up with a game-high four goals in the victory over Sparta.

“We have a really close-knit team. I think the seniors are the glue and the fact that we are so close. It really makes such a difference on the field. “

PHS head coach O’Gorman views Jacobs as a difference-maker for the Little Tigers.

“Liz is a very powerful girl; she uses her height to her advantage,” said O’Gorman. “She drew it to herself to keep it out of the ring of everyone getting too involved. She knows when to drive and when not to now. She used to get called on charging, she is controlling her body and using it to her advantage.”

O’Gorman was heartened by how PHS seized control of the contest down the stretch.

“I told them that they need to show that they are the better team today,” said O’Gorman, reflecting on her halftime message.

“I know that they definitely had more to offer. We didn’t come out as hungry in the first half. I am just so proud of them that they could turn it on coming back from being behind to really show themselves. They capitalized on the other team’s errors; they kept themselves performing clean. As a whole, they were using everyone on the field; everyone was stepping up. They literally turned themselves around from the first half.”

In O’Gorman’s view, that turnaround was sparked by simply going after the ball harder.

“We changed up the draw a little bit,” explained O’Gorman, who got three goals and two assists from junior star and Penn-bound Emilia Lopez-Ona in the win with sophomore Gabrielle Gibbons chipping in three goals and an assist.

“We set up more defensively at the end too. When they were controlling the ball in the center, it wasn’t clean. It would get on our stick and go down. It was those 50/50 balls that we turned around. We were boxing out for each other, we were being more selfless. Everyone off ball was working a lot harder.”

PHS is turning things on at the right time, playing its best lacrosse of the season when it matters the most.

“I can’t stop smiling; I just feel like the team is bonding a lot better,” said O’Gorman, who is in her first year guiding the program.

“We have a lot going on. They went through their APs and their testing. They had a spurt where they looked really tired. Now they are revved up and ready to go and they are not going to slow down, that is what I see. I didn’t really sub much at all today; they are in shape.”

The Little Tigers are ready to give powerful Mendham a run for its money in the sectional final.

“They are definitely a solid team,” said O’Gorman of 14-5 Mendham which topped No. 4 Indian Hills 17-5 in its sectional semifinals.

“If we play our game, it is going to be a great matchup. They worked and earned their spot to be there for sure. I am excited to see them in this particular year because I think they are a little weaker than in the past.”

Jacobs, for her part, is excited about PHS’s prospects in the title game.

“I think we are on such a high we just have to keep going,” said Jacobs. “We have to just get pumped for the next game because we are going to go out there swinging.”