Losses don’t diminish Lawrence

BOYS SOCCER

By Tim Falls, Sports Editor
   The Lawrence High School boys soccer team would admit they had higher expectations for their season.
   Lawrence finished 4-12, but were very competitive in those losses. The Cardinals lost nine games by two goals or less.
   The season started poorly as Lawrence lost its first five games.
   ”After the 0-5 start the Cardinals felt like there was a black cloud over their heads,” said Lawrence boys soccer coach PJ Barrett in an e-mail. “However the ball seemed to start bouncing their way as we went 4-2 during the next six games.”
   Those wins gave Lawrence a new hope and the potential to reach the NJSIAA playoffs. Many teams might have folded after dropping their first five games, but the Cardinals gave themselves a shot at qualifying for the postseason.
   ”At 4-7 with three games left, we thought we had a great chance at achieving our goal of returning to states,” said Barrett.
   The Cardinals had hoped a non-conference game against Palinfield would be a pivotal point in their season, but a 3-2 loss denied Lawrence a shot at qualifying with a .500 record by the cutoff date.
   ”We were down 3-0 at half,” said Barrett, “but with a strong second half we were able to reduce the lead down to one. It looked as the though the Cardinals had tied the game with 1:23 left, but a cat-like reaction save from a Ryan McCarthy volley proved to be the difference as Plainsfield went on to win, 3-2, and put to rest any hopes of Lawrence returning to states.”
   In retrospect, the Plainfield game seemed symbolic of the Cardinals’ season. Lawrence fell behind early, came back strong, but wound up losing in the end.
   Barrett said the Cardinals never recovered from the loss to Plainsfield and went 0-5 in their final five games.
   Lawrence went into the season with only David Shillaber, Chris Borlaug, Paul Grant Jr. and senior tri-captains Zack Everson, Maciej Kowal and Pawel Romanski returning with varsity experience. Lawrence fielded seniors Colin Annand, Lorenzo Aparicio, Borlaug, Everson, Aaron Johnson, Kowal, Jose Martnez, Ryan McCarthy, Romanski, Shillaber and Ajan Sivaramamoorthy.
   ”The seniors this year were a group of hard-working individuals that deserved a better season,” said Barrett. “It will be hard to replace this group of players.”
   Lawrnece also had juniors Chris Ball, Paul Grant Jr., Ryan McMichael, Mat Sciabbarrasi and Brad Smith as well as sophomores Tommy O’Rourke and Alex Valzez. Along with Barrett, the Cardinals were coached by Michael Underwood (assistant), Brian Rostron (JV), Joe Donigan (Frosh) and Scott Shuman (volunteer).
   With a lot of talent returning the Cardinals are anticipating a better season next year.
   ”We have a very strong coaching staff, great parental and community support and a feeder program that is rapidly growing,” said Barrett.
   The Lawrence coach noted that the team will return seven players, including six starters. There is plenty of optimism regarding Lawrence soccer, with strong JV and freshman seasons preparing younger players for the varsity level. The Cardinals brought up young players like Spencer Reymond and Ricard Toto for the Mercer County Tournament.
   Kowal led Lawrence’s offense this season, scoring 11 goals and providing two assists for 24 points.
   Everson added seven goals and had six assists for 20 points, Grant had three goals and four assists for 10 points, Romanski scored twice and had four assists for eight points and O’Rourke scored three goals and had three assists for seven points. Johnson scored twice and had an assist for five points and McCarthy scored and had an assist for three points. Sciabbarrasi, Martinez, Annand, Smith and Sivaramamoorthy each scored for two points, while Aparicio had two assists for two points.
   While Lawrence did not have the season it wanted, the Cardinals competed and can take pride in the way they played.