WW-P North girls’ soccer wins schools first sectional title
By: Justin Feil
WALL — Lauren Lentine didn’t miss her second golden chance to win the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls’ soccer team its first sectional crown in school history.
Lentine, the Northern Knights’ junior who misfired a shot into a prone Wall goalkeeper with 2:30 left in the first overtime of the Central Jersey Group III state tournament, hit the fifth of her team’s shootout attempts for a 4-2 win over Wall in penalty kicks after they’d played to a 0-0 tie through 100 minutes Thursday.
"Walking up to that line was nerve-wracking," Lentine said. "My stomach was killing me. I was so nervous."
Lentine then calmly deposited the winning penalty shot into the upper right quarter for the first sectional title in the school’s five-year athletic history.
"These girls, they’re incredible," said WW-P North head coach Kevin Mackenzie whose team will play South Jersey III champion Moorestown 2 p.m. Tuesday at Neptune. "In overtimes, we’re like 10-1-1. So I felt real good about it. We’ve always performed well in overtime."
The Knights might not have had the chance were it not for the skills of its goalkeeper, Amy Hashem. Hashem punched out Wall’s best shot of regulation with 3:30 left in the second half. She went to the ground twice in the second half and overtime portions to make saves on scrambles.
Hashem’s biggest save, however, came after WW-P North’s Lauren Eccleston fired wide on the first penalty kick of the shootout. Hashem then kept the score tied by diving to her right to punch away the first Wall kick.
"How many bouncing balls did she get in regulation?" Mackenzie said. "Amy has been huge for us all year. We miss our first penalty shot, and if Amy does not come up wiht that save, I don’t know if we have the confidence to stick those other penalty shots."
Fueled by Hashem’s play, the Northern Knights managed to make their next four shots. Erika Mitos scored the first, Rachel Trick had the second before Wall’s third shooter fired high well over the crossbar before North’s Jessica Carnevale netted one for a 3-1 advantage to set up Lentine’s final kick.
"Towards the beginning of the season, I was missing a lot of shots wide or over," Lentine said of practicing penalty kicks. "Mr. Maggio worked with me and I got more confidence.
"There’s always pressure on you. Knowing Amy was saving all their shots helped me."
It was the ninth shutout of the season for Hashem. It was an overall performance that resulted in the first sectional title in school history. The Northern Knights can add it to their Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division crown.
"I’m so proud of this team," Mackenzie said. "Our goal was to win a championship. Now they brought us two."