Playoffs are not possible

SOCCER

By Tim Falls, Sports Editor
   The Lawrence High School boys soccer team did not give up just because they were down three goals against Plainfield on Monday.
   Despite remaining winless in the first five games of the season, Lawrence managed to put itself in a position where qualifying for the NJSIAA playoffs was a possibility.
   Lawrence defeated Ewing on Thursday and Trenton Catholic on Saturday to improve to 4-7 and would have needed wins against Plainsfield (a 3-2 loss), West Windsor-Plainsboro South (a 7-1 loss) and Hightstown (tomorrow) to gain a .500 record by the NJSIAA cutoff date and advance into the postseason.
   Lawrence shut out Ewing, 4-0, on Thursday and defeated Trenton Catholic, 7-1, on Saturday as the Cardinals scrambled to improve their record.
   ”They were good wins,” said Paul Grant Jr. “We thought we could take that momentum into this game, but they were still good wins.”
   Plainfield took a three goal lead in the first half on Monday, but with the possibility of reaching the state playoffs depending on a victory, Lawrence came out much more aggressively in the second half.
   ”It was nice to know we stayed in the game,” said Grant. “We didn’t roll over. We didn’t lose, 6-0, we didn’t lose, 5-0. We came back and made it interesting.”
   Grant fired a free kick low past the Plainfield keeper as the Cardinals pulled one goal away from tying the score.
   Tommy O’Rourke scored Lawrence’s first goal of the game, putting in a rebound after teammate Zack Everson blasted a shot into the crossbar.
   Lawrence’s offense came close to tying the game but several scoring chances were denied despite the Cardinals’ persistence.
   ”We were trying everything because we needed the win to keep going and try and get into states,” said Ryan McMicahel. “We needed this game pretty bad. We were a little unlucky.”
   McMichael helped the Cardinal cause by clearing two otherwise certain Plainfield goals. In the second half, McMichael kicked away two Plainfield shots that were heading toward an empty net.
   ”I was just trying to get the ball out of our net,” said McMichael, “and make sure there were no more scores.”
   While Lawrence kept Plainfield from adding to its lead, the Cardinals came close but fell short on offense.
   Ryan McCarthy nearly tied the game with a close in shot that the Plainfield goalie just managed to knock away.
   ”That was a great save,” said McMichael. “You’ve got to give them credit for that.”
   Lawrence’s first half foibles proved too much to overcome.
   ”We started off slow in the first half,” said Grant. “We were attacking but there were mistakes.”
   ”We were a little unlucky,” said McMichael. “We had a few balls bounce into our net that shouldn’t have and we didn’t come out like we should have. We played a good second half, we just came up short.”
   Lawrence’s first five losses, while often close games, made it much more difficult for the Cardinals to qualify for states.
   ”We started out 0-5 and nothing was happening our way,” said Grant. “We’d be up in the other team’s half of the field the whole game and they’d get a breakaway and we’d lose. In four of those five games we lost, we scored first. You always have to go hard. You can’t let up.”
   Lawrence showed that by coming back with two second-half goals against Plainsfield.
   ”We came back,” said Grant. “We didn’t stop.”
   Maciej Kowal scored twice in Lawrence’s 4-0 win over Ewing.
   Everson tallied and had an assist, while McMichael scored and Pawel Romanski had two assists.
   Chris Ball made four saves in the Cardinal shutout.
   Kowal and Allen Johnson each tallied twice in the Lawrence’s 7-1 over Trenton Catholic.
   After the narrow defeat to Plainfield, Lawrence lost to WW-P South, 7-1. Ryan McCarthy scored the Cardinals’ only goal to tie the game 1-1 in the first half. The Pirates put in six unanswered goals in the second half.
   While Lawrence won’t qualify of the NJSIAA postseason, the Cardinals still have the Mercer County Playoffs.
   With all of Lawrence’s talk of being unlucky, it is fitting that the Cardinals were seeded 13th in the county tournament. Lawrence will play fourth-seeded WW-P South on Saturday in the first round.
   ”We’ve still got to work real hard,” said McMichael. “We’re not in line for states, but there’s still the Mercer County Tournament and we’re playing for pride.”
Losses knock out
Lawrence girls
   Losses to Ewing and West Windsor-Plainsboro North kept the Lawrence girls soccer team out of contention for the NJSIAA postseason.
   The Cardinals fell to 4-6 after a loss to Steinert last Tuesday and would have needed to win three of the team’s last four games before tomorrow’s deadline to qualify for states. Eligible girls soccer teams need a .500 as of Oct. 24.
   Lawrence lost to Ewing, 2-1, Thursday night.
   Adrian Glass scored the Cardinals’ only goal in the second half as Lawrence cut into the two goal lead Ewing built in the first half.
   After a close first half, WW-P North scored five times in the second half to hand Lawrence a 6-1 loss.
   Nikki Tracy scored with an assist from Adrian Glass as Lawrence matched the Knights, 1-1, in the first half.
   Lawrence lost 3-0 on Tuesday as WW-P South recorded its 10th straight win and sixth shutout of the season.
   The Cardinals are slated to play Hopewell Valley at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament on Saturday.