(Photo by Stephen Goldsmith) BRYANT PARK: Princeton High junior attackman Doug Bryant heads to goal in a game earlier this season. Bryant erupted for five goals and four assists in PHS’s 20-5 win over Princeton Day School last Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament. The fourth-seeded Little Tigers will play No. 1 WW/P-S in the MCT semis on May 16 at Robbinsville.

With Bryant Becoming a Force on Attack, PHS Boys’ Lax Advances to MCT Semis

Bill Alden

Doug Bryant took on a big challenge for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team coming into this spring.

After playing in the midfield in his first two seasons for PHS, the talented junior was moved up to the team’s first attack unit.

Initially, Bryant ran into some heavy traffic as he adjusted to his new role.

“I guess dodging poles was really different,” said Bryant.

“I wasn’t really used to that because with shortsticks you can get away with things that you can’t with the pole.”

As the spring has gone on, though, Bryant has figured out to get through the poles, emerging as a major scoring threat for the Little Tigers.

In the last few weeks, Bryant has posted several multi-goal games to help pace the PHS attack.

“The coaches have been encouraging me to go to goal more,” said Bryant, reflecting on his recent scoring surge. “I definitely have been feeling more confident.”

Last Saturday, as Bryant and the Little Tigers hit the field to host Princeton Day School in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament, they were looking to regain their confidence after suffering a 16-6 loss to WW/P-S two days earlier.

“That really got us down, no one was expecting to lose 16-6,” said Bryant. “The coaches and everyone realized that it shouldn’t have been a 16-6 game.”

Fourth-seeded PHS struggled in the early going against fifth-seeded PDS as the teams were knotted at 2-2 with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

But with Bryant catching fire, the Little Tigers scored six unanswered goals to break the game open on the way to building a 12-4 advantage by halftime.

“We started to get a rhythm after the first quarter,” recalled Bryant, who scored three goals in the first half. “I guess that is what we needed to lick our wounds.”

In the second half, PHS kept clicking, breezing to a 20-5 win with Bryant ending up with five goals and four assists and Mike Olentine tallying seven goals.

The win gave the Little Tigers another shot at WW/P-S as PHS will play the top-seeded Pirates in the MCT semis on May 16 at Robbinsville.

In Bryant’s view, the PHS attack’s performance in the win over PDS exemplified the rhythm he has established with linemates Olentine and Joe Sanford.

“Michael Olentine and Joe Sandford have been playing attack their whole career,” said Bryant. “It has been good.”

Another good factor for Bryant is the connection he feels with twin brother, Allen, who has triggered things from the midfield.

“We do have a nice connection,” said Bryant, reflecting on playing with his brother. “On a lot of our plays, the attack and midfield work together so that really helps out.”

PHS head coach Peter Stanton said that the Little Tigers put in some extra work after the WW/P-S loss to get together for the game against PDS.

“Typically having a game on Thursday and Saturday, Friday would be a light day,” said Stanton.

“We had some things that needed to be addressed and they were physical things. The only way to do that is by practicing really hard so we practiced really hard yesterday.”

The hard work paid off, particularly in the third quarter when PHS clicked on all cylinders, outscoring PDS 6-0.

“We were nicely relaxed,” said Stanton, whose team moved to 10-4 on the season with the victory over the Panthers.

“It has never been a matter of effort with this group, this group always tries hard. Instead of working harder, sometimes they need to work a little smarter.”

Stanton certainly likes the smart play he has been getting from Bryant on attack.

“He has got really good skills,” asserted Stanton, whose team will host Robbinsville on May 14 as it girds for the clash with WW/P-S.

“He is one of the better shooters I have coached and we have had some really good attackmen. As far as like a pure shooter, he can really, really shoot the heck out of it. He is also gaining decision-making which comes with experience and playing time.”

Stanton is hoping that his team can benefit from the experience it has gained this spring when it takes on WW/P-S this Saturday.

“We don’t want to be remembered as the team that lost to South by 10 goals,” said Stanton, whose team will be starting play in the state tournament next week.

“After the loss, we went to Lax Power and got out the archives and went to 2005 season records. These guys are almost a spitting image of that team. We are a talented young team, we have had our ups and downs. We ended up finishing strong. We lost to South 11-4 in the regular season and we beat them in the playoffs 12-4. That was a 15-goal swing so we wanted to plant that seed.”

Bryant, for his part, is looking for a similar reversal of fortune.

“We definitely want it to be a four quarter fight,” said Bryant. “Hopefully we will come out on top this time.”

In Bryant’s view, the Little Tigers have the team unity to pull that off.

“We are making it a goal to get close as a team so we all know each other and our strengths and weaknesses,” asserted Bryant. “The chemistry is definitely there.”

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