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Women's lacrosse freshman midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica didn't move far from home to go to college, and her Lawrenceville School coach, Martha Gracey, is just one of many who are glad about her decision. On Tuesday night Gracey hopped in the car with her daughters to watch Lewis-Lamonica's "iron will" in action for the Tigers.

"It was so emotional — it's a dream come true for her," Gracey said. "To see her compete so well as a freshman, it's everything you could've wished."

Watching from the stands as Lewis-Lamonica scored in the first few minutes in the Tigers' game against Columbia, Gracey wasn't the least bit surprised by her high school star's skill around the net. While under Gracey's tutelage, Lewis-Lamonica scored more than 200 goals in a four-year span. Though the transition to collegiate sports can be difficult for some, women's lacrosse head coach Chris Sailer knew she would be a player the Tigers could count on immediately.

"She showed early on [that] she's the type of player we want in our system," Sailer said.

Lewis-Lamonica did not disappoint Sailer and has already scored five goals for the Tigers in five starts. But what has surprised both Sailer and Lewis-Lamonica is her tough defensive presence, a welcome feature on a team that lost many of its top defenders to graduation.

"I never thought of myself as a defender," Lewis-Lamonica said. "It's crazy to be playing defense."

While it's not the role she expected to play, it is one at which she is incredibly talented. In the Tigers' victory over No. 5 Duke, Lewis-Lamonica not only netted a goal, but also held the Blue Devils' leading scorer and one of the nation's top players, Katie Chrest, scoreless in field play.

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Lewis-Lamonica's performance at Duke and in every other game thus far has been cheered on by numerous fans who followed her throughout her high school career. Her parents, grandparents, cousins and Lawrenceville friends have come to watch her make an impact on the collegiate level and live out her dream.

Growing up in nearby Lawrenceville, Lewis-Lamonica always wanted to attend Princeton, but she didn't catch the lacrosse bug until a good friend pulled her into the sport in seventh grade.

"After I started lacrosse, Princeton was an even stronger dream," Lewis-Lamonica said.

Lewis-Lamonica attended Tiger lacrosse games for years, and from her position in the stands she always viewed the players as superstars. Now they're her friends, but playing for Princeton is still sometimes unreal.

"There's so much tradition and so many people with so much experience," Lewis-Lamonica said. "It's almost bizarre to go out with a Tiger uniform and play myself."

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Sailer had nothing but praise for Lewis-Lamonica and her work ethic but said the freshman is still learning exactly where she fits in the Tigers' offensive sets and when to use her impressive speed at midfield — fast enough that she holds Lawrenceville's 55-meter dash record.

"She needs to learn when to rest and when to go hard," Sailer said. "I think her competitiveness and intensity are huge."

According to Gracey's experience, Lewis-Lamonica will be a sponge for Sailer's advice and guidance.

"She's one of the hardest workers on any front," Gracey said. "It's great to see her coached by the best in the nation — she deserves it."

Though Sailer and Gracey may have foreseen her immediate impact, for her part, Lewis-Lamonica described her position as a starter as "exciting but surprising."

She took full advantage of her playing time in her first game as a Tiger when she scored her first collegiate goal. But while Lewis-Lamonica admits it was big to score as a freshman, she saw it less as an individual effort and more as a way to contribute to the success ultimately gained by the work of all of her teammates.

More than anything else, she's just enjoying the moment.

"What I'm looking forward to most is just each game," Lewis-Lamonica said. "It's such a great feeling — the competitive feel on the field, the unity of the team. It makes all the conditioning sessions worth it."