Lawrence envisions a return to glory

BOYS SOCCER

By John E. Powers
   P.J. Barrett has a vision.
   The first-year Lawrence High School boys soccer coach sees the Cardinals returning to their glory days of the 1960s and 1970s, and contending for a state championship, the last which came in 1994. Lawrence won nine state titles with eight of them coming between 1967 and 1980.
   Four times during that run they made the state final.
   Tuesday night, Barrett saw some of what he’s been imagining.
   The Cardinals beat Hopewell Valley, 3-0, to improve to 2-1-1.
   Senior forward Doug Franc, junior forward Zack Everson and senior Pawel Romanaski had the goals. Romanaski, Franc and senior middie Hiro Katsumata had the assists.
   Senior Brian Pillsbury had 11 saves for the shutout.
   ”I think we’re playing much better,” said Barrett, a 1991 graduate of Lawrence High. “It was a very good game. We lost to Princeton the first game of the season, we tied Nottingham in the second, beat Notre Dame 2-1 in the third and now a 3-0 win. So we’re progressing.”
   Barrett got his first win last Friday when the Cardinals beat Notre Dame after a scoreless first half. Everson scored the first goal of the game — and Lawrence’s first of the year — and then took the lead for good when Everson caused a turnover and hit junior middie Maciej Kowal with a perfect pass. Kowal sent it home with 17:25 left.
   ”We’ve got some flair,” Barrett said. “The confidence is back. They knew (Hopewell) it was a very big game. It’s always a battle with them.”
   Barrett should know, he was the girls junior varsity soccer coach for 12 years before joining the boys as an assistant last year. He’s just the fourth coach in Law?rence history.
   ”I’m a Lawrence guy through and through,” he said. “We have have a lot of new players on varsity, the guys have a working knowledge to the game, it was a matter of putting them in the right spots and now it’s starting to click and Brian is solid as a rock.”
   The defense has played well too. Senior Stephen Ciosek volunteered to mark Bulldog senior Ryan Brost throughout the game, and the coach agreed.
   ”Stephen did a fantastic job,” Barrett said. “The seniors have taken ownership of the team, helping the younger guys along.”
   The aim is not just to make the state playoffs this year, but to win when they get there.
   ”So far so good,” said Barrett, a defensive star in his days as a Cardinal. “We want to bring Lawrence back, the pride, the tradition of winning and playing good soccer. Last year their goal was to get back to the states since they hadn’t been there for years. This year our goals are higher. We just don’t want to win a game in (in the state tournament), but we want to be the last team playing from the (Colonial Valley Conference) CVC.”