Cardinals keep spirits up

BOYS SOCCER

By Mike Molaro, Sports Writer
   The record might read 0-3, but the Lawrence High School boys soccer squad isn’t feeling sorry for itself—and the Cardinals don’t want any pity points.
   ”We’re disappointed with our record, but the guys are working extremely hard,” head coach P.J. Barrett said after Lawrence opened its season with a 2-1 loss at Princeton on Sept. 12, a 3-2 setback at Nottingham on Sept. 16, and a 2-0 home defeat against Notre Dame. “We are not down at all. Things will work themselves out.”
   ”We have played three of the top five teams in Mercer County. We have to stay confident and the guys will do that. We are getting out chances. We are not finishing those chances.”
   Senior forward Zach Everson scored a goal off a set play for the lone Cardinal goal against the Little Tigers, who held a 9-8 advantage in shots.
   ”This was our season opener and we played a tough game,” added Barrett. “We easily could’ve won this game.”
   Everson, off an assist from senior forward Ryan McCarthy, and senior midfielder Pawel Romanski (penalty kick) tallied against the Northstars, who scored the game winner off a penalty kick with 25 minutes remaining. Everson’s first-half goal made it 1-1 at halftime and Romanski pulled the Cardinals to within a goal with 10 minutes left. Junior goalie Christian Ball had 10 saves.
   ”We were the better team,” Barrett said. “We dominated the statistics and held the advantage in shots, but we had a few mental lapses and those cost us the game.”
   ”You can’t take anything away from Nottingham. They are surprising a lot of people right now. This is a game we could’ve won.”
   Ball turned aside nine Irish shots but ND scored a goal in each half for the victory.
   ”We battled them, no doubt about that,” added Barrett. “We had more opportunities than they did, but Notre Dame took advantage of theirs. We didn’t finish.”
   As the Cardinals look to this afternoon’s home game against Allentown and Saturday’s contest at Hopewell Valley, they are building on the positives despite that 0-3 mark.
   ”The key is to remain positive,” Barrett said. “We need to concentrate a little more when we have those opportunities. I’m not disappointed with our effort. It’s always there.”
   ”A couple of different bounces and we can be 2-1. I’m disappointed with the record, but we are working hard and you like to see that as a coach, especially when things aren’t going your way. We want to be 2-3 at the end of the week.”
   Lawrence is looking to a core group of guys who have stood out early to continue their solid play and providing the necessary leadership.
   ”(Junior defenseman) Mathew Sciabbarrasi has been doing a great job,” added Barrett. “He moved from forward to the back. (Junior midfielder) Paul Grant and Romanski have been playing well. Chris (Ball) has been much better than expected in goal. He has answered a huge question mark in the nets. Zach (Everson) has been playing with two broken bones in his right foot. What does say about him as a player and a leader?”
   The Cardinals believe they are close to turning things around and aren’t that far from being 2-1 rather than winless in their first three games. Their attitude remains positive and strong and they feel it’s just a matter of time until, as Barrett said, things work themselves out.