Cranbury connection aids PHS boys

Duo lifts Little Tiger soccer offense

By: Justin Feil
   The Cranbury pipeline to the Princeton High School boys’ soccer team reads like a Biblical genealogy.
   One superstar begat another, who begat another, who begat another.
   PHS coach Wayne Sutcliffe goes back to 1995, the state championship team that was anchored in goal by Cranbury’s Craig Schroeder and he could take you right up to today’s team.
   Schroeder was in the back. Today, it is a pair of dynamic strikers in the front that have helped the Little Tigers move into position for a championship run. Ross MacDonald, a senior who only seems to have been there seven years because older brother Graham was also a standout for PHS, and sophomore Sam Kotowski have teamed up to score two-thirds of the team’s 36 team goals this season.
   "Those two work well together," said Sutcliffe, whose team was 8-2 going into Thursday’s scheduled game against Ewing and will host Ewing again Saturday in their Mercer County Tournament opener. "They work hard for one another. They’re on the same page together. It’s nice that Sam can play a big role in the season that Ross is a senior. I think that’s a valuable asset. They’re both from Cranbury. That might have something to do with it.
   "We have had so many good guys from Cranbury. Craig Schroeder was our goalie in 1995. Craig was the best. And he happened to live a door or two down from Sam Kotowski."
   The circle of life, Cranbury style.
   "We definitely manufacture some good players," MacDonald said. "Kyle DeBlois, an outside mid, is also from Cranbury. We all go way back. We all played together in middle school."
   They were on the team last year too when the Little Tigers stumbled to a .500 season, though they are undoubtedly bigger part to the team this year. Those year-old memories were erased early on this year by a promising start that has been sustained.
   "Last year, I think we actually had better individual players," MacDonald said. "This year, we’re a better team. We have better chemistry. Everyone is friends. It just works better this year.
   "When we were winning last year, we started well last year, but we weren’t commanding games. We started off this year with an 8-0 and a 5-0 win. We were feeling good."
   Kotowski had a hat trick in the first game and MacDonald added two goals of his own. They haven’t let up since then. They already have combined for 23 goals, four more than the entire team scored last year. Kotowski leads the team with 14 goals, while MacDonald has added nine.
   "The team being better has a lot to do with that," MacDonald explained. "Last year, we didn’t have as many opportunities. We were subbing out more. We’ve developed more chemistry.
   "It’s not like one person dominates the scoring. He has a few more goals than me, and we both have a fair amount of assists. It’s good. They can’t triple team or double team us. Either way, one of us is available. It’s good to have a balanced attack. Every aspect of our attack is good."
   Having two pieces of the attack that have fit together so well has been a luxury for the Little Tigers. MacDonald and Kotowski are part of a natural progression and development.
   "They’re pretty consistent in the games," Sutcliffe said. "With regard to Ross, he’s a senior now and his game has really matured in terms of being able to beat defenders and find the openings where he can score for us. He became a lot better than he used to be. He’s a little quicker, a little bigger, a little stronger this year. I think that adds up to make him a more threatening forward. And I think Ross’s basketball experience has helped him a lot. He’s a varsity player.
   "Sam, the same thing minus the senior thing and the basketball. Sam is playing the game 12 months out of the year. His state team experience and regional team experience and national experience have helped him. His team won the state cup. He’s on the ball literally year-round. That has helped him a lot. He’s a year older. He came in last year and it was an adjustment with respect to the pace of the game and the physicality. He’s a little stronger, a little faster and a little quicker. It’s helped."
   Having a good attack is only one piece of the puzzle. Sutcliffe likes the balance of the Little Tigers this season.
   "We’re getting real effective senior leadership and we have some guys that can play," Sutcliffe said. "There’s more of a competitive urgency in the team in practice and obviously in games. Lastly, we’re able to score goals most importantly when it matters most.
   "Defensively, we’re pretty tight. I’ve been real happy with our goalies and our defenders. I would say the other point of our improvement is if we continue to try to find a way to always challenge ourselves, not taking the easy way out. We’re getting some real good leadership in that sense too."
   MacDonald, though not a captain, is one of the seniors ensuring that the Little Tigers continue to press forward toward its lofty goals.
   "The couple losses we’ve had have been in overtime," he said. "We felt we could have done better there and gone undefeated. But we’ve got a pretty good seed for the Mercer County Tournament. We’re trying to take it from here and not think about the losses. We’ve had a pretty good season."
   MacDonald has been able to bring his leadership to the offensive end. PHS has enjoyed far greater success there this season but their productivity isn’t a shock to MacDonald.
   "I’ve always known we had the potential," he said. "As a team last year, we only scored 19 goals. We passed that three or four games into the season. It’s a lot easier. We’re creating more opportunities. I’m not surprised. I’m happy about it."
   Sutcliffe might say the same about MacDonald and Kotowski. He’s not surprised that he has another strong group of contributors from Cranbury. He has through the years had more than his share. And he’s certainly happy about it.
   "The team has really bonded well," Sutcliffe said. "We seem to be very much on the same page and working for a common goal — trying to win a championship."