PHS offense stalls in state tourney loss

Little Tigers fall to Wall

By: Bob Nuse
   For Wayne Sutcliffe, Wednesday’s Central Jersey Group III tournament game was a reminder of the way most of the season has gone for his Princeton High boys’ soccer team.
   For the most part, the Little Tigers played well and certainly were in a position to win the game. But, as was the case for so much of the season, scoring goals proved to be difficult and Princeton came away on the short end of a 3-1 score against Wall.
   "I was disappointed with the result against Wall," said Sutcliffe, whose team finished the season with a 7-7-2 record. "We fought hard, but it was a disappointing result. We weren’t able to finish our chances. That’s the story of our season. You have to be able to finish."
   And finishing was something the Little Tigers didn’t do enough this year. They were shut out in six of their 16 games and scored just one goal four other times. For the season, the Little Tigers scored just 18 goals.
   "We played a good team and we wound up on the wrong end of the score," Sutcliffe said. "I thought we came out strong and had some chances early. They came down and got a goal, but we came right back and answered to tie it up. Peter Callahan drew a penalty in the box and Sam Kotowski scored on the penalty kick.
   "I thought we played pretty even in the second half with the wind in our face. But we had two critical errors in the back that led to their two goals. We fought hard and put together some decent chances, but not great chances."
   This year marked the fourth time in the last five years Princeton has played Wall in the state tournament. And even though Princeton came in seeded 12th, Sutcliffe felt like his team had a chance to beat the No. 5 seed.
   "I think over the course of the season we proved we could play with anybody," Sutcliffe said. "But in our tightest games against good teams, like Hopewell Valley and (West Windsor-Plainsboro) South, we couldn’t finish and wound up losing, 1-0. I thought we played well in those games, but we just couldn’t get that goal that we needed.
   "We had a couple games where we did finish, like the game against Notre Dame, and some of our games early in the season, and that was when we played our best. I think the difference between our team, which was 7-7-2, and some of the teams with just a couple losses, is that we didn’t have that one guy that could score the big goal at the crucial time."
   Kotowski wound up leading the Little Tigers with four goals this year. Three other players — Ross MacDonald, Casey Rahn and Callahan — scored three goals. But there was no one player Princeton could count on to get the big goal at the crucial moment.
   "Over the years we’ve had that one guy who could score 15 or 20 goals in a game," Sutcliffe said. "But this year we didn’t have that guy."
   Even so, Princeton finished the season well. After a 4-0-1 start, the Little Tigers lost five straight and appeared on the brink of not even qualifying for the state tournament. But a win over previously undefeated Notre Dame and tie with Ewing got Princeton into the CJ III field.
   "That has to be a positive," Sutcliffe said. "We had a tough stretch and we bounced back from that and did well to qualify for the state tournament. We played our best game against Notre Dame when we had to win. And then we played well the next game against Ewing. And our latter two games in the Mercer County Tournament, we played well and scored five goals and didn’t allow any."
   Many players will return next year. And those who will not have left a solid mark on the program.
   "We’re looking forward to next year," Sutcliffe said. "The seniors we had this year have made good contributions over their four years in the program. Five of them participated on championship teams and they have a lot to be proud of."