WW-P North boys’ soccer tops South
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Nassir Silwany had to watch from the sidelines when an injury forced him to miss nearly all of West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s run to the state Group III tournament semifinals last year.
This year, the senior defender is healthy again and has helped the Knights pick up right where they left off. A 4-0 win over rival WW-P South on Monday night at Mercer County Community College gave the Knights a perfect 3-0 record heading into Thursday’s schedule game against Steinert.
In three games, the Knights have scored 11 goals and allowed only one.
”I got to play the last game in the states and that was it,” said Silwany, one of the Knights’ tri-captains. “The state run was so exciting, but it was depressing because I just wanted to be out there but I couldn’t. Even that last game I couldn’t play the whole game.
”This year, a lot is expected out of us. Last year we went in wanting to win everything, but we had not done it. This year we have high expectations and we have everything to lose because we have such a good team.”
The Knights have started the season like a team determined to repeat as Central Jersey Group III champions. In the win over the Pirates on Monday, Kevin Nowak and Mike Jacques scored goals in the first half before Scott Kelly added a pair of goals in the second half. The defense yielded just six shots for its second straight shutout.
”We have a lot of players who play well and it just has to come together,” said Silwany, who is fully recovered from his injury. “We gained some because Mohamed (Conteh) wasn’t playing with us last year. And Kody (Sun) came over from Connecticut and he’s been a big addition as well.
”We let up a goal against Allentown, but we came back and didn’t allow a goal against Peddie or any against South. We hope to keep the goals low. All of us were on the team last year. Stefan (Bebenov) was rotating in and now he’s starting. It’s (Eric Rosenbaum), me, A.J. (Reichert) and Stefan and we all have experience and we’re playing well back there.”
While the Knights have shown they have an explosive offense, the defense is already in mid-season form. In addition to the four starters, Joe Cigna comes off the bench and also helps in front of goalkeeper Eric Scala.
”We had five guys play in the back four tonight,” said North coach Trevor Warner. “Joe Cigna steps in and we don’t miss a beat when he goes in for A.J. But Nassir is our calming influence back there. Guys know if they take a risk, Nassir is going to be there to clean things up. He does a phenomenal job. He anticipates things so well and he plays beyond his age. And he has been doing it since his sophomore year.”
Silwany hopes his senior year finishes with the same kind of success the Knights enjoyed last year. Only this time he’d like to be on the field. This year, opponents will be coming after a WW-P North that has proven just how good it can be.
”That was the thing we talked about, even in the small-sided summer league here at Mercer, that you need to get used to people getting geared up for you,” Warner said. “This game, that doesn’t matter because it will always be a tough game with South.
”Our effort, from the outset, was high. After the first 15 minutes I was concerned that we had not put one in. You always think one crazy bounce and they could be up. But that’s our senior leadership. We have 12 guys and a lot of them are returning. We endured and once we put one away we felt really good.”

