Emilia Lopez-Ona has established herself as one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse program.

Last spring, Lopez-Ona scored 123 points on 99 goals and 24 assists in her sophomore season to help the Little Tigers go 14-4 and advance to the sectional semifinals.

While field hockey is Lopez-Ona’s second sport, she is starting to make a similar impact in a game she picked up just three years ago.

Last Wednesday, the junior forward scored the winning goal with 7:59 remaining in the second half as PHS rallied for a 2-1 win over powerful Allentown.

In reflecting on the clutch tally, which came on a feed from sophomore Campbell McDonald, Lopez-Ona said she was just taking care of business.

“Campbell really did the work there; she took it down the whole left side,” recalled Lopez-Ona.

“She kept her eyes up and saw me in the middle and my job is just to hit it backside pipe.”

For Lopez-Ona, refining her skills as a playmaker has been one of her main areas of focus this fall.

“Each season is a new beginning; it is a really nice break from lacrosse,” said Lopez-Ona, who had four assists in PHS’ first three games.

“The thing about field hockey is that assists and goals have the same importance.”

The progress that Lopez-Ona has made reflects the improvement PHS has made collectively as it has gotten off to a 4-1 start this season.

“Last year, I feel like we were a really young team starting to develop,” said Lopez-Ona.

“This year almost all of our starting lineup came back and I feel like we have really matured as a team.”

The Little Tigers showed that maturity in the victory over Allentown as they fought back from a 1-0 first half deficit.

“I think after the timeout at the end of the first half, we really collected ourselves and got a ton of chances,” said Lopez-Ona.

“We kept that momentum into the second half; you could see the step up in the level of play.”

PHS head coach Heather Serverson credited Lopez-Ona with helping the Little Tigers step up in their second half rally.

“I think a lot of that spark came from Emilia,” said Serverson. “She really fired up and people feed off of that. When she gets excited and the shots start going, the rest of the team gets excited.”

Serverson was excited about the win over perennial powerhouse Allentown.

“This is one of the key games for us; I am so pleased that we came out with the win,” said Serverson, who got the game-tying goal from senior Vivien Bazarko on another assist by McDonald.

“We didn’t start out really well. We weren’t playing good team defense and we were dumping the ball to their stick. We turned it around and started playing our game. We just started moving the ball and passing stick to stick. We played the passing game that we practice everyday. It was definitely the team I have seen play so far this season.”

In Serverson’s view, her team showed growth by sticking with its game plan. “It is something we have been working on over the season; I think as a program we have to learn to just hang in there and keep playing our game,” said Serverson.

“Things will work out if you just do what you have done everyday in practice.”

With the combination of senior Sydney Watts and sophomore Julia DiTosto anchoring the PHS defense, the Little Tigers can hang with just about anybody.

“They are the core of the team,” asserted Serverson of Watts and DiTosto. “Without the two of them and their composure, their vision, and their ability to transition from defense to offense, we would not be doing as well as we are doing. They are definitely key.”

Bazarko and McDonald have emerged as key contributors for the Little Tigers.

“Vivien is one of our captains, she communicates very well on the field,” added Serverson.

“I think she gives great constructive feedback in the moment when she is playing with the other girls. Campbell is very consistent when she is on and today she was on. She puts her heart into it and moves to the ball.”

Serverson is hoping that her team can show even more heart collectively.

“I think this is going to be a wake-up call,” said Serverson, whose team plays at WW/P-S on September 27, at South Hunterdon on September 29, and at Ewing on October 2.

“The first half of the season wasn’t as challenging as this game. I think this win today showed them that they need to work harder in practice. I think they just need a little more confidence.”

Lopez-Ona, for her part, believes that PHS possesses an unselfish mindset which should help it get through the challenges ahead.

“We work together, that is probably my favorite thing about this team,” said Lopez-Ona.

“We pick ourselves up and just work together. Every connection, every goal, it is not just one person doing the work.”