Chetrick back for North girls

Senior boosts midfield for Knights soccer

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Kristen Chetrick was the most athletic statistician in the Colonial Valley Conference last year.
   But keeping the stats for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls’ soccer team wasn’t her choice of fun, particularly for someone accustomed to being on the fields year-round.
   ”I had a stress fracture in my L5 lumbar vertebrae,” Chetrick said. “I wasn’t able to play. I think it was an overuse injury. That previous spring, I was playing lacrosse and soccer so I was playing sports every single day. My back got worn down over time and developed a crack.”
   Instead of making her varsity debut last year for a Knights team that needed an offensive lift, she was on the sidelines keeping track of a North team that had just one senior starter.
   ”It was frustrating,” Chetrick said. “My back doctor would say, in six weeks you can play. I’d try playing and feel pain, and have to sit out again. It was so frustrating not knowing the actual date when I’d be able to play.”
   Chetrick has returned to the Knights this year as a senior, and is contributing on as an outside midfielder, not recording goals, assists and saves. She assisted the only goal that WW-P North needed in a 1-0 win over Robbinsville last Tuesday. She had one of the Knights’ six goals as well as an assist in their season-opening win over Allentown.
   ”She’s a tremendous athlete,” said North head coach Kevin Mackenzie. “She’s very fast. She has a great work rate and great skills. She brings something we’ve not had at that position. She can go back on defense and she’s very good going forward. Ali DiOrio is good on the other side. It’s the strongest midfield we’ve ever had, I think.”
   Cait Wilson and Sara Alesio play the middle of a midfield line that is helping make the Knights all the more dangerous. They stand 2-1 with wins over Allentown and Robbinsville sandwiching a 2-1 loss to defending Central Jersey Group IV champion Steinert.
   ”In our scrimmages, we always won by at least two goals,” Chetrick said. “I feel that was pretty good. Regarding the Steinert game, I really, really thought we had a chance to beat them. One of the goals they scored, I disagreed with. You can’t change that. In the future, I think there’s a good chance we’ll beat them next time.”
   Added Mackenzie: “The Steinert game, we played well. I think they’re every bit as good as they were last year. We were right in the game up ‘til the end. It was 1-0 until about 10 minutes left. We scored our goal with a little over a minute left to make it interesting. We were a little tentative in the first half and then played better in second half. Robbinsville, they’re a good squad, and their turf is difficult. It’s fast. To get out with 1-0 is good. It’s a good start.”
   The Knights have state and county title aspirations with so much back from last year, plus the addition of impact players like Chetrick. Having played with many of the seniors on her West Windsor-Plainsboro Breakaways travel team, Chetrick has fit right into the starting lineup and sees a much improved Knights team overall.
   ”On my travel team, I play forward and defense,” she said. “I’m really a versatile player. I like the midfield. I’m able to play defense and offense. I’m able to set up combination plays with my forwards. And I like scoring goals.
   ”When I was watching them last year,” she added, “we had decent players. I didn’t feel there was a lot of good chemistry. This year, I feel so connected. We can anticipate each other’s plays. That contributes to a lot of the scoring that we do now. Last year, we basically had one scorer and everyone looked for her. This year, all the forwards and midfields are equally good. All have the potential to be big goal scorers.”
   Mackenzie likes the strength that the Knight have from back to front. Lily Pepper is in her third year as starting goalkeeper while co-captain Catherine Galton is the anchor of the defense. The established midfield connects the defense to a forward line that includes Carolyn Girandola, who scored the lone goal against Robbinsville, Emiko Edwards and Stephanie Parrott.
   ”I don’t see any weaknesses on our team,” Mackenzie said. “That’s exciting.”
   He is excited to see Chetrick’s contributions to the Knights. After three games, she already has a pair of assists and a goal. It’s just a start.
   ”She’s very versatile,” Mackenzie said. “I can play her in the center. I can play her up front. She’s very good. For this team, she’s most effective on the outside. I can see moving her elsewhere if the situation calls for it. There are not many players with her size and skill.
   ”I forget what our goal total was last year, but it wasn’t that high. We didn’t generate a lot of opportunities out of the midfield so the forwards didn’t have a lot of chances. She’s tremendous going forward. She’s tremendous in the air. She’s a danger to score on every corner and restart. She’s really helped.”
   Last year was difficult for Chetrick to sit and watch. She’s making up for lost time in her final year with the WW-P North girls’ soccer team.
   ”I was really looking forward to this year,” she said. “This is my first real ‘varsity’ year.”
   Kristen Chetrick is making the most of it, and keeping the Knights’ new statistician busier than she ever was.