Respected Knights look to build reputation
By: Justin Feil
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High North boys’ lacrosse team spent all of this season working to gain respect after going 4-12 last year in their first year of varsity play. A 14-3 regular season and a share of the Bianchi Division crown with three-time champion Princeton High did plenty for the Knights’ reputation.
Then, in their first state tournament appearance, it looked as though the Knights were heading back to their old ways after a lethargic first half had them trailing, 2-0, in the first quarter and left them tied with South Brunswick, 3-3, at halftime.
"At halftime, we reminded ourselves that we’ve been out there for two and a half months, and we wouldn’t be 14-3 without everyone doing their job," said WW-PN head coach Neil Brown. "We reminded them to do what they’ve been doing all year. Within the first two minutes of the second half, it was obvious that we were going to win. You could see it in their eyes."
The defense clamped down and the offense came to life as the 24th-seeded Knights scored the next six goals on their way to a 9-5 win over the 41st seed, who they also beat 9-5 in a regular season game. WW-PN plays at ninth-seeded Westfield 2 p.m. today. Though the Knights are the underdog, they’re looking at it as the next step in establishing their program.
"What we want to do is come out real quick, win the face-offs, get a couple goals and let them know that we’re all business, that we came to play," said Dan Brennan, one of the three Knight captains. "We have the recognition through our division. We want to be known throughout the state."
They established one mark already by winning an eighth straight game Wednesday, a West Windsor-Plainsboro record. A win over Westfield would certainly go a long way toward establishing the Knights as a state contender. But they know it will take a full 48-minute effort to top Westfield. They can’t afford to play like they did in the first half Wednesday.
"We just came out a little slow," said Brennan, a defender who helped keep the Vikings scoreless in the third quarter. "Maybe your heads weren’t in the right place. Maybe we were looking a little ahead. Maybe we just took the game too lightly. We knew we had to come out and play our game.
"It really was the score that got us motivated at the half. Our offense wasn’t moving the ball enough and following the two-second rule. And our defense wasn’t talking enough. But we’re a second-half team and we did better then."
The slow start could also just be a sign of the Knights’ youth. They’re still one of the youngest teams around. Brennan leads a defense that does not have a senior. And the offense was led by freshman Derek Jackson, who had a goal and three assists and Matt Daniell, another freshman, who had the first two goals of the first half to bring the Knights back from an early 2-0 deficit, and freshman Eric Su, who scored twice in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Matt Lalli led the Knights with three goals. He’s just a sophomore.
"Teams don’t really take us lightly now," Brennan said. "They know we have some key players like Danny (Johnnidis, the Knights’ leading goal scorer), and Matt."
Defensively, it’s more of a mystery who’s back there as Brennan and his defensive mates don’t put up the rosy statistics. But more importantly, Brennan sees that the team isn’t giving up high numbers of goals.
"We’ve really come together," he said. "We’re really talking more. That’s when we have our problems too. When we don’t talk, we don’t know what we’re doing and give up goals. But we’re doing a pretty good job. In man down, we’re good. We’re forced to talk then."
Wednesday, Brennan helped limit South Brunswick’s 100-career goal scorer Taylor Reed to a pair of goals and an assist, and enabled the Knights to keep alive their state title hopes. The success has come quickly as they’ve tried to establish their program, maybe even quicker than they thought it could.
"I think everyone’s a little in shock still coming from last year’s bad record," Brennan said. "But now we don’t want to lose. We want to keep on going."
To do so, the Knights have to get by Westfield, which would give them a date with the winner of No. 8 West Essex and No. 25 Pingry on Tuesday.
"We’ve discussed Westfield as a team that will be like Peddie and Princeton," Brown said. "But it won’t be the same because it’s an elimination tournament, and we can play with a lot more desperation and a lot more energy."