Pirates look to future with all but three seniors returning
By: Justin Feil
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South boys’ lacrosse team was sorry to see it’s season end with a 12-6 loss to Hanover Park in the state tournament Wednesday, but all but the three Pirate seniors can point to next year for a chance for redemption.
"Coming into the season, we only had two real returning varsity players, (Andrew) Burke and me," said Pirate captain Rob Morris, who scored a pair of goals Wednesday. "We had a brand new coach. Our goalie, Brendon Morfe, had taken a year off to concentrate on football and wrestling, but he was good to have back. Everyone else came up from JV.
"We weren’t expecting to go 10-7. It was a big success like that. We have a lot of younger guys. I wish it had turned out differently. Hopefully it will next year."
Wednesday’s loss was the third straight for the Pirates, though all three of them came against state tournament teams. Their final loss came after they fell behind the 29th-seeded Hanover team, 8-2, in the first half.
"We rallied for a couple goals but we couldn’t come back," Morris said. "We just had a slow start. I don’t know why exactly that happened. But they had a lot of good players. We spent a lot of time on defense. They found cutters in the crease and came up with the goals."
Morris, who is among the state’s leading scorers with 56 goals and 40 assists, hopes that a few changes next season will give WW-PS more preparation for that type of competition.
"We only have a 16-game schedule," the junior midfielder said. "With other teams, with state games and their own little tournaments, they’re playing 20 or 21 games. Next year, I think maybe we’ll get a couple more games with a couple more teams of tougher competition. I’d like to go with a more competitive schedule with teams like Peddie, like (WW-P) North did."
The Bianchi Division gives the Pirates a good strong start. But upgrading their schedule could give the Pirates a higher seed in the state tournament. Teams are seeded based on their power rating, and playing more A division teams would boost WW-PS’ power rating and making them a more tournament-ready squad.
"Next year will be different because now we’re only losing three and we have seven or eight starters coming back," Morris said. "As kids improve over the summer, we’ll be a well developed team with a lot of guys back and a familiar coach. Maybe we can make a name for ourselves."
With so many familiar names and faces, the Pirates are well on their way to happier endings to next year’s spring season.