PHS, WW-PN lax ousted by Moorestown; WW-PS boys fall to Ridgewood
By: Justin Feil
There are no consolation games in the boys’ state lacrosse tournament, but it might seem so when West Windsor-Plainsboro North hosts Princeton High 4 p.m. today.
Both the Knights and Little Tigers were eliminated from the Group II state tournament by Moorestown last week. West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s season ended with a 15-2 loss to second-seeded Ridgewood in the Group III quarterfinals Friday.
"We knew coming in that it was going to be tough," said WW-PS head coach Kerry Weigner, whose squad finished 13-5. "That’s why they’re the No. 3 team in state. They’re deep. All of them can get up in transition. It’s another level of lacrosse. It’s North Jersey."
The Pirates, who were led by Adam Ferrante’s 19 saves Friday, have climbed to new levels each year. South, which lost in the first round of the states last year, advanced to a second-round game this year led by a strong corps of seniors.
"They won 35 games through three years," Weigner said. "We don’t have the most talented guys. But they all give it everything they have. They bring that focus and passion. They accomplished a lot more than anyone thought. They went 13-5. People thought it’d be .500 team, barely able to make states. It started from the beginning with a win over Princeton and went all the way to a win in states. They proved everyone wrong."
PHS, which beat Governor Livingston, 11-7, last Tuesday in the first round, was stymied in the Group II second round by Moorestown, 6-0, Thursday. Friday, Moorestown shut down the shorthanded Knights, 9-4, in the Group II quarterfinals.
"The kids played their hearts out," said North head coach Neil Brown, whose team fell to 11-5, good for second place the Bianchi Division. "This was actually a very winnable game. We lost control of the tempo of the game late in the second quarter. That hurt us. We didn’t have a lot of legs. Our bench had five guys on it. They had 25."
The Knights were without three players due to Friday’s impending prom, and two weeks earlier they lost two of their more players in Dan N. and Dan P. Long to injuries. Matt Daniell and Eric Su had one goal apiece and Steve Henning and John Feurstein each scored their first varsity goals ever. North’s leading scorer, Matt Lalli, moved back to longstick defender to shore up the defense.
"He played man-down the other day with a longstick," Brown said. "He’s such a talented athlete. He can play any position on the field. And he’s selfless enough that he volunteers to do it."
In goal, Doug Nosko faced 31 shots and stopped 15 to keep North in the game. The Knights were tied, 2-2, before Moorestown scored the final two goals of the first half for a 4-2 lead.
"It was an honest team effort," Brown said. "I was very happy with the kids there."
PHS head coach Peter Stanton also saw bright spots in his team’s 6-0 loss to Moorestown. The Little Tigers lost to Moorestown, 10-4, two weeks earlier.
"We had a little more familiarity with what they were trying to do," said Stanton, whose team fell to 5-11. "Sam Finnell probably had his best game of the season. To hold them to six goals is a pretty good achievement for us.
"We had our matchups pretty good. Last time, their middies really hurt us. We did a better job of defending them."
Yet Moorestown’s middies again were a key factor in ending the Little Tigers’ state tournament with a shutout loss.
"We scored all our goals in the first half last time, so maybe we caught them a little by surprise in that game," Stanton said. "Their middies just play incredible defense. We had a hard time getting the ball in the box and getting our guys in and set up."
He’ll be looking for a team effort to top the Knights today. It’s the season finale for both teams.
"It certainly would be nice for the seniors to end their career with a win," Stanton said. "We have a lot of guys who have played hard all season long. It’s just guys that love playing lacrosse and will play the game for fun.
"We really have to make sure we get the most out of all our guys. We’re a team that can’t be carried by one or two people. We need 10 to 15 guys to play really well. The other thing about our team is in every game, we’ve had one, two or three great quarters. We’d still like to put together that four-quarter game against a tough opponent."
WW-PN will use the game to take away some of the disappointment of Friday’s loss. Though the sixth-seeded Knights were the underdog against No. 3 Moorestown, they felt confident.
"I don’t think a West Windsor team has actually gotten past the second round," Brown said. "I thought this was the team that could have achieved it this year. The Group II draw was one of the top two draws in the state definitely this year. We knew it was a tough tournament. But one thing I’ve noticed in New Jersey this year is there’s a great deal of parity. This was a good year for us to make noise."
Now it’s down to one final game for the chance to go out with a win. For Brown, it’s his last game with the first freshmen he had at WW-PN.
"Kids like Joe (Ferrara) and Matt and Mike (Meirowitz) and Nick (Garofoli), I’ve come to depend on them as assistant coaches," Brown said. "They’ve transcended the player-coach relationship. They’ve done a great job of helping me and the other players. I’m really going to miss them.
"I think we’ll definitely be up for the Princeton game," he added. "Princeton is a natural rivalry. We’re both coming off losses to the same team. We’re both going to work really hard. I’m looking forward to a good game on Tuesday. I know Pete’s going to have his kids ready."