Forsell propels Knights soccer

First-half goalie scores winner

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Lexie Forsell did a little of everything to help the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls’ soccer team advance out of the first round of the Central Jersey Group III state tournament.
   The junior had to make just one save as the Knights’ goalkeeper in the first half, then after giving way to Jen Ibanez in the second half, Forsell played the field and scored the game-winning goal in the ninth-seeded Knights’ 2-1 win at No. 8 Red Bank Regional on Tuesday.
   ”In our minds, it was win or go home,” Forsell said. “Nothing was going to stop us from winning. We played extremely well today.”
   The challenge gets a little tougher for the Knights, who will play at unbeaten and top-seeded Freehold Boro, the defending Group III state champion, 11 a.m. today. It’s not an unfamiliar challenge, however, to some of the Knights, including Sarah Alesio, who assisted on Forsell’s goal and Briana Taft, who scored their first goal of Tuesday’s game in the second half.
   ”Four years ago, when these seniors were freshmen, we were an eight or nine seed and they were the No. 1 seed and undefeated like they are this year and we beat them,” said North head coach Kevin Mackenzie after his team improved to 8-8. “It’s the last time we beat Freehold Boro. We’re excited to go in and give it another shot.”
   For Forsell, the routine will be the same as it’s been since the Knights had to begin rotating goalies in the fourth game of the year. Forsell plays the first half, and Ibanez, who made five saves Tuesday, plays the final 40 minutes while Forsell jumps to the midfield.
   ”There’s more pressure being goalie,” Forsell said. “I don’t want to let my teammates down and give up a goal.”
   It’s also takes a bit of a transition to get from the goalie mentality to that of a field player.
   ”It does have its downs,” Forsell said. “I’m not running around in the first half so I have to pick up with my other teammates’ tempo. I try to match their tempo.”
   It may not be the ideal, but Forsell was willing to rotate in goal if it meant giving the Knights a better chance at winning. North feels more comfortable with its current set-up.
   ”I’ve had goalie experience, but when I was younger,” Forsell said. “I knew we needed a goalie. When Coach asked me, I wasn’t going to say no. I knew I could probably do it.”
   She also knows she can still be a help in the field. She wasn’t tested much in goal in the first half as the Knights dominated play, but she was happy to get in on the action as North scored both its goals in the second half with Forsell’s coming in response to Red Bank’s tying score.
   ”We took one-goal lead and then we relaxed a little bit,” Mackenzie said. “They raised their level and got their goal. We dominated the last 15-20 minutes, it was just a matter of whether we would score.
   ”It had a little eerie feeling to it because you weren’t sure (North would score), but we responded well to their goal. I was proud of the girls.”
   Alesio served up a perfectly placed kick to Forsell, who one-timed it in to help the Knights advance.
   ”We made eye contact,” Forsell said. “We saw each other. We knew she was going to kick it to me and I was going to be wide open. It was a free kick. Sarah perfectly placed it right to my foot.”
   The goal erased any frustrations of the Knights after they controlled the game, but didn’t have much offense to show for it. The last tally was just what they needed.
   ”We lost a couple games in the county tournament, but we played well,” Mackenzie said. “We just weren’t finding ways to win. Today, it was nice to dominate and find a way to win. It gives us confidence going into Friday. I expect the girls to be loose going into it.”