North boys’ lax falls in states

Knights give strong effort at Madison

By: Justin Feil
   The West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys’ lacrosse team may not have improved its record this season, nor advanced beyond the second round of the state tournament that it also reached last year, but there’s no doubt the Knights continued to move in the right direction this year. That much could be seen in their improved schedule and disappointment in not going farther in the state tournament.
   "The kids know we played a tougher schedule so that when states came around, the kids would be experienced in these situations," WW-PN head coach Neil Brown said after his team finished 10-6 with a 9-5 loss to Madison on Thursday. "The kids showed a lot of heart. We had a few breakdowns and letdowns that hurt us in an otherwise good game."
   The 23rd-seeded Knights fell behind Madison early, but recovered to make it, 5-5, before the No. 10 seed scored the game’s final four goals.
   "In the middle of the game, the second and third quarters, we played very well," Brown said. "The first and fourth were what gave us trouble. It was 3-0 after the first couple of minutes because we had trouble adjusting to the picks they were setting. We shifted to a zone in the second and third quarters and that’s what stopped them.
   "By going to a zone, though, we sacrificed time to shut them down. Once we got it to 5-5, we had some turnovers and they scored twice and then we had to pressure more and go to man and that’s when they got their last two goals. But the kids adjusted beautifully and they played hard."
   Such has been the case all season for the Knights, who upgraded their schedule in their third year with a varsity program to include such schools at Johnson Regional, Westfield and Moorestown, all of which they faced on the road. That schedule, Brown hoped, gave the Knights an advantage in states, even against a higher-seeded team like Madison.
   "We were confident because they didn’t have a lot of experience against higher pressure teams like us," Brown said. "Even our zone is high pressure. We knew they had some big scorers. Their goals in the beginning were due to our failure to play the way we know how."
   The Knights’ challenge now is to overcome the loss of 12 seniors, most of whom were part of the program since Day One, and continue to build a program that has evolved each year under Brown.
   "We’re losing a lot of seniors, but our freshmen and sophomores show a lot of heart," he said. "I’m enthusiastic about next year.
   "The seniors on this team, when they’ve been on the field, especially on defense, they’ve really established a tone for the team. The defense, they’re the ones who set the tone. Danny Johnnidis (who led WW-PN with two goals Thursday) down on attack has proven to be an effective finisher. And our senior midfield has done a strong job of playing good aggressive offense and defense."
   Next year promises to be different for the Knights, though the goals will not be any less with some experienced underclassmen returning. The attack returns three starters, while an entire midfield unit was juniors and the defense has some up-and-comers ready to step in. In goal, Doug Nosko will step in for Devin Jackson.
   "Doug got a lot of good playing time," Brown said. "He did an excellent job along with Devin. Not only has Devin been the starting goalie since we started this team, but I’ve known him for years before that. He’s done a phenomenal job for this program. Doug is going to exemplify the standards that Devin set up for us."
   By reaching the second round of the state tournament in each of the past two years, WW-PN has established itself as a consistent program. But now, they’d like to take the next step.
   "Even though our record is not as good as the year before, I think that reflects more our caliber of schedule," Brown said. "We got to the second round, we didn’t do what we wanted to in the Bianchi Division. We’ll reset our goals to win the division and get to the third round.
   "Next year, we’re being put in a newly formed (B) division due to realignment," he added. "I’m going to be working hard this week to put high-level teams on our schedule again. I thought we’d be put in the A division, but we’ll just have to try to get them on our schedule."
   And the Knight boys’ lacrosse team hopes that those steps will help it continue to develop and reach its lofty goals next season.