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Pirates going global

Travels aid South soccer senior

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   Keisuke Murata has been busy.
   The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South senior came into this soccer season as prepared as ever. And to do that, he spent a lot of time traveling and gaining experience playing against elite players.
   ”I went to Malta this summer,” said Murata, who had a goal and an assist as the Pirates improved to 4-1 with a 4-1 win over Montgomery on Saturday. “Stoyan (Pumpalov, coach of his Princeton Union ‘90 team) used to play in Malta, so I went there and played for three weeks. It was different. Everyone there is almost like a professional. Soccer is their life.
   ”It was a good experience. It was totally different than here. I played with a top team with all adults and also with the U-19 players. Everyone there was very good. There was a guy who made the Chelsea Academy in England and he had just come back to Malta because he got homesick. He was very good.”
   Murata hopes to use the experience he gained to make this a special season at WW-P South. The Pirates opened with a pair of wins before suffering a loss to WW-P North. They bounced back with wins over Robbinsville and Montgomery.
   ”After the North game we were kind of upset because we did not do well,” said Murata, who came to WW-P South from Japan and has played with the varsity soccer team since his freshman year. “Even at practice we were not in a good mood. We started to feel better and then (against Robbinsville) we played much better than Monday. And I think it was getting better today.”
   He’s gained quite a bit of experience playing for Princeton Union ‘90 over the years. And he’s also as comfortable as he’s ever been playing at the high school level.
   ”Two years ago we won the State Cup,” Murata said. “We’ve gone to Bulgaria for a trip. We took the trip as a team and played Bulgarian teams. Here, I’ve known Coach (Brian) Welsh for four years. It’s been a good experience, good times and bad times.
   ”When I was a freshman, we were very good. This year we have a chance to do something big if we keep working hard and scoring goals.”
   Murata himself is not a big goal scorer for the Pirates. His goal on a penalty kick against Montgomery was his first of the season. But he’s already got four assists this year.
   ”He got exposed to professional soccer this summer and I think it was a good experience for him,” Welsh said of Murata. “He’s not really a goal scorer. Even in our game against Robbinsville, he could have scored but he passed up the chance and set up a goal. He’s always said he’s a playmaker and not a scorer. He is not a designated captain, but he has become, in his own way, a leader on the field for us.”
   The Pirates jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Montgomery on a goal by Alex Prieto. The Cougars came back to tie the game on a great goal by Matt Wiltse. But goals by Murata, Quinn Male and Drew Siversten closed out the scoring for the Pirates. With the loss, Montgomery slipped to 1-2-1 on the season.
   ”It was a very challenging week and I thought the kids responded,” Welsh said of the Pirates. “We had a nice win against Robbinsville and then we really needed to play well in this game. North really beat us up in that game. We were overwhelmed.
   ”But we want to play well against the better teams and we have five or six games coming up like that with teams like Princeton, Notre Dame and Steinert. I put Montgomery in that category. It was a nice win, so I am pleased with how we’re going at this juncture.”