Lawrence boys soccer
By: Jim Green
Although he lost countless hours of sleep because of his team’s heartbreaking losses this season, Lawrence High School boys soccer coach Keith Fithen didn’t spend a moment worrying about whether or not his team was playing its hardest.
"I went home happy with the effort every night," he said. "There wasn’t a lack of effort, just a lack of execution."
The Cardinals’ biggest problem, of course, was the lack of a go-to goal scorer. Lawrence (7-11-1) was shut out in nine of its 19 games, lost six games by two goals or less including two 1-0 losses to Allentown and posted a scoreless tie against Delaware Valley. Those are frustrating results in a season where the Cardinals missed out on the state tournament by one game, suffering a 1-0 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro North in their last game before the cutoff.
"We played well from the goalie to the 18 on the opponents’ side," Fithen said. "We struggled on offense this year. We dominated at times. The opposing coach will tell you we were just as good as anybody. When it came to putting the ball in the net, we couldn’t do it."
Stephen Sikora had six goals and five assists to lead the Cardinals, while Joda Hankins had six goals and four assists, and Danilo Giaquinto had five goals and one assist. The Cardinals actually scored as many goals (31) as they gave up overall, but 22 of their goals came in a stretch of four wins over 14 days in late September. They managed only three total goals over their last eight games, with two coming in their season-ending 2-1 win over Trenton.
"We lost three games, two to Allentown and one to Nottingham, that we dominated at times," Fithen said. "When it goes into the box, and you can’t finish, that’s a problem.
"The kids tried their best. They worked hard. They fought hard. We played a lot better than we did last year. I’m proud of my kids, and I’m happy with their effort."
The Cardinals now say good bye to their 10 seniors, including co-captains Giaquinto and Hankins, as well as Artem Kukushkin, Dan Macziewski, Luis Martinez, Zack Robert, Federico Cicchino, Mehul Patel, Bryan Eveland and John Stracquatanio.
"They all have different personalities," Fithen said. "They all bring something to the team. I’m going to miss them all. They’re special to you after four years. I care about all of them. When we lost, we still were together as a team."
The Cardinal program as a whole began to come together, as Fithen was working with freshman coach Mike Underwood and junior varsity coach Brian Rostron for the second season.
"They did a great job this year," Fithen said. "We’re starting to know each other more. The program’s starting to gel again."
And the Cardinals will return 11 players next season, as well as several younger players who will be fighting for playing time in 2006.
"We’ll be stronger next year," Fithen said. "We improved in our play and our competitive level. You could not say we didn’t compete. The kids know what they need to do in the offseason.
Several of the Cardinals will stay in shape the rest of the year by playing other sports for Lawrence, such as track or tennis.
"A lot of my kids are involved in other programs and contributing to the school in a lot of ways," Fithen said. "We’ll be watching them and rooting for them."
NOTES: Lawrence will put a final cap on its 2005 season with its team banquet from 3-6 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Robert Wood Johnson Wellness Center in Hamilton.
"We’re going to have a good time and honor the kids," Fithen said.
Three Cardinals already received honors, as they were named to the All-Colonial Valley Conference team as selected by the conference’s coaches. Defender Bobby Mitchell was named to the second team, Giaquinto, a midfielder, was named to the third team, and Hankins earned honorable mention status.

