Panther boys’ soccer advances with shootout

Top-seeded PDS girls also win Prep B opener

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   This has been an up and down season for the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team.
   So it seemed only fitting that the Panthers opened the state Prep B tournament with an up and down game against Oratory Prep.
   The Panthers, the tournament’s fourth seed, played very well in building a 2-0 lead at halftime. They didn’t play quite as well in the second half, when fifth-seeded Oratory scored twice to tie the game.
   The two teams then battled through a scoreless overtime before going to penalty kicks, where the Panthers prevailed, 4-3, to advance to Wednesday’s semifinal game at top-seeded Pennington.
   ”It was very exciting,” PDS goalkeeper Matt Raborn said of the shootout, where he came up with one huge save early and saw another Oratory shot go off the post. “That’s the first time I have ever been involved with something like that. We chose to kick first so the pressure would always be on the last kicker and it paid off in the end.”
   Rui Pinheiro and Justin Ward had scored goals in the first half to give PDS a 2-0 lead. In the shootout, Andrew Krech, Pinheiro, Maxime Hoppenot and Owen Haney all scored for the Panthers, who got all the help they needed with a big save from Raborn.
   ”I love the pressure,” said the senior goalkeeper, who had five saves during the regulation and overtime. “I live for the pressure. Especially in those situations where if you let them make their mistakes, then your team will carry you in the end.
   ”Being up 2-0, we did not want to give up too many goals. And being in that situation, it’s tough to lose in the end. This is the seniors’ last year and the seniors really did all they could to make sure we preserved this win.”
   The win was an up during a year that has the Panthers 7-10-1 after a 3-1 loss to Notre Dame in the Mercer County Tournament on Saturday.
   ”It has been a very up and down year,” Raborn said. “Some days we show up and some days we don’t. We played well the first half and then got a little ahead of ourselves in the second half and it showed. We’re a come-from-behind team and we showed it there.
   ”We have Pennington in the states. We lost the first time, 3-1, and the second time was 4-0. I am looking forward to another chance to play them. There is a little bit of a rivalry there.”
   The PDS girls are the top seed in the state Prep B tournament and will host Rutgers Prep in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Panthers topped Gill-St. Bernard’s, 6-0, in the opening round on Thursday as Cammie Linville had a goal and two assists to lead the Panthers on offense.
   In the state Prep A tournament, the Hun School boys will play at St. Benedict’s on Wednesday.