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Knights are champions… again

WW-P North boys’ soccer stays on roll to repeat at sectionals

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   The West Windsor-Plainsboro High North boys’ soccer team has been on an extended roll that’s hard to fathom.
   Since suffering a 5-0 loss to Trenton on Oct. 18, 2007, the Knights have been pretty close to perfect. They finished the 2007 season by winning six of their final eight games, capturing the Central Jersey Group III title along the way.
   On Friday, the Knights made it two straight CJ III titles with a 2-1 win over Wall. WW-P North improved to 19-1 this year with the win, giving them a 25-3 mark in the last 13 months.
   ”We’ve lost three games since we lost that Trenton game,” said WW-P North coach Trevor Warner, whose team will face Moorestown in the Group III semifinals today at 5 p.m. at Toms River North. “One was to Pennington in the Mercer County Tournament last year, one was to Ocean City, and then Princeton this year. At this point in our last 28 games we’re 25-3. We had the offseason and a different start and different agenda.”
   The Knights are playing like they never had an offseason. There was no letdown after the great finish to last season. No hangover that led to a slow start this year. A year in which they’re just an overtime loss to Princeton in the MCT semifinals away from being perfect.
   ”This feels great,” said senior Eric Rosenbaum, who was part of a terrific defensive effort against Wall. “We knew from the beginning we had a great team and we had the ability to do this again. But now that the moment is finally here, it feels just as good if not better than last year.
   ”Last year we lost to Trenton in the last regular season game. Then we got them in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament and we beat them. I think that gave us a lot of confidence. It kind of turned around our whole season.”
   It led right into this season. Despite losing their starting goalkeeper, Eric Scala, to injury just before tournament play, the Knights have not missed a beat on defense. They’ve allowed nine goals all season and just two in three state tournament games.
   ”We talked about that before the game,” Warner said. “Last year was like a fairy tale. Nobody expected anything of us. From the beginning we had an expectation this year. Not only did we have it for ourselves, but everybody else had an expectation for us. And it was a fair expectation. I could not be prouder of the way the guys have handled those expectations.”
   Mohamed Conteh, who sat out last season after transferring from Sierra Leone, scored the first goal Friday for the Knights. After Wall tied the game, it was a goal by Kody Sun, who joined the program this year after moving from Connecticut, that made the difference.
   ”Wall brought their best,” Rosenbaum said. “They’re a real good team and they deserved to be here. But we came out with it in the end. It was a nail-biter pushing the ball to the corners.”
   Now the Knights make a return to the state semis, where they lost to Ocean City in penalty kicks last year.
   ”Most of our team from last year is back this year,” Rosenbaum said. “We can say we’ve been here and we know how to deal with the pressure. So experience helped us a lot this year. And being here with our home fans, it really gave us a boost.
   ”Last year was a new experience and Mr. Warner told us last year that we should cherish it because we may never be back. But then before this game he said we have a chance to be back. So we’re looking forward to it and maybe moving on to the state championship.”
   The Knights will face Moorestown with an offense that has seen eight different players score at least five goals. They also boast a defense that has not wilted since Dan Hayduchok took over for Scala in goal.
   ”We talk about it every single day,” Warner said of not having Scala. “But it is a life lesson. Sometimes things fall in your lap. Sometimes they’re good and sometimes they seem like an obstacle that is insurmountable. I’m proud of Dan. He has stepped in and done a good job for us.
   ”But the other 10 guys in front of him have decided they’ll take more on themselves in order to make his transition easier. It takes quality kids to do that.”
   And it takes quality kids to get on the kind of extended role the Knights have been one. It is a roll they’d like to extend for two more games.