Senior keeper leads Pirates to states
By: Justin Feil
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South girls’ soccer team won’t be sweating out a state tournament berth this year, though they did have to sweat out the final 10 minutes of their tournament-clinching victory.
Veteran goalkeeper Lauren Fucetola made a sliding save on a breakaway chance with 1 minute, 20 seconds left in regulation and the ensuing follow-up sailed high to give the Pirates a 2-1 win at Princeton on Friday and a 6-2-1 record with four games left before the cutoff for being .500.
"It feels so great right now," said Fucetola, who made two of her four saves in the final 10 minutes. "We’ve had our ups and downs, Steinert being one of them (down in their previous game). We’re having a great season. It’s so nice to, not relax, but have those wins under our belt."
Having a senior keeper in the back has helped get those wins as much as having two seniors up front in Kris Shemming, who missed the Steinert loss due to injury, and Kelly McLaughlin. McLaughlin had the game-winner off an assist from sister Maura McLaughlin, who scored the game’s only first-half goal. But after Kelly’s goal at the 14:41 mark, it was Princeton that seemed to gain momentum. Carly Edgcomb’s goal five minutes later ignited the supporters of PHS, who were out in force for the Little Tigers’ Senior Day, before the Pirates held on.
"I was happy to get that extra goal," said WW-P South head coach Chris Miller. "I always say that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead. They get one goal and the momentum is switched over to them at the very end. I would have hated to lose in those last few minutes. They certainly put a heck of a lot of pressure on my goalie and everyone else."
Fortunately, Fucetola is no stranger to pressure. She was a freshman when she had to fill in for most of the season for Lindsey Williams, a three-year starter who has gone on to start in college. Fucetola was the best back-up goalkeeper in the Colonial Valley Conference as a sophomore when Williams’ returned for her senior year. Fucetola started last year and this season is among the top keepers in the CVC.
"My goaltending for the last six years has been phenomenal with Lindsey and Lauren," Miller said. "Lindsey played three and Lauren has played three. I could not ask for better goalkeeping in the last six years.
"It’s going to make me scared to death for next year and I do have some prospects coming up for next year. Whenever they’re trying to fill the shoes for someone who’s been tending the net for three solid, solid years, it’s certainly big shoes to fill."
And when the stories are passed down about the save that Fucetola made to literally save the game for the Pirates, those shoes will seem a little bigger. With PHS’ Lindsey Edgcomb bearing down, Fucetola broke at just the right time to slide in and pop the ball up and over to the right. The follow missed the net high.
"It was one of those balls where you’re kind of far off the ball," Fucetola said. "We were kind of not as close to our marks as we should have been. I saw her coming. It was one-on-one to the goal and I went out as far as I could probably. Then the ball got loose. The dead leg kind of hurt. I was really happy when I saw the ball go over the net."
Added Miller, "The momentum had switched to them. It was a huge, huge save. She knew if she didn’t go it was going to be in the back of the net. She came up with a huge save at the end of the game. Absolutely huge."
For the game, however, Miller credited her overall defense with limiting the Little Tigers’ chances. It took one of their better efforts to hold off a motivated PHS team that slipped to 2-7 this season.
"I thought my defense played very well today," Miller said. "They stepped in front. They were winning balls. This is the best game they played in the air. They were really getting their heads on balls. That’s been a weakness for us. So I am hoping we turned the corner on winning those balls up in the air."
It was no surprise to the Pirates that PHS, in the midst of its struggles to win, forced the best out of them.
"Princeton always gives us such a great game," Fucetola said. "In the beginning of the season, we were really shocked that they had lost to Trenton. One of my friends from travel, she’s on Princeton, Kim (DeBlois), she was saying it was a fluke. We knew we’d have to come out and play the same game we’ve been trying to play all season."
Fucetola is getting comfortable playing with a young defense in front of her. While the offense has more of the team’s most experienced players, Fucetola lends experience to the back.
"This year, taking on a captain role is kind of different," she said. "You really have to be a leader. You can tell everyone listens a lot more. Last year, they listened, but I was still a junior and there were still seniors above me. It’s different, but it’s really nice to have the whole team look up to you. I’m really enjoying it.
"From freshman to senior year, it is really different," she added. "When I went out there as a freshman, I can still remember what it felt like to jump on the field in a varsity game. I feel more comfortable with the people I’m playing with now. We’re a very young defense, but it’s nice to be able to talk to them and coach them back there."
In moments like Friday’s game-ending save, there’s no team happier to have someone of Lauren Fucetola’s experience than the Pirates.