WEST WINDSOR: Kenavan passes on shots, not wins

Junior helps Knight boys lax past PHS

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Drew Kenavan is among the points leaders for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys lacrosse team, yet he didn’t even attempt one shot in Wednesday’s 7-6 win over Princeton High School.
   ”That was fine with me,” said the junior midfielder. “I don’t mind creating and dishing it.”
   In fact, he much prefers it. Kenavan finished the Knights’ second straight win since losing to rival WW-P South with a pair of assists to help them improved to 5-2.
   ”I consider myself a pass-first player,” Kenavan said. “Last year, I don’t know where it came from. I started scoring goals.”
   Most of it came from Ernie Park, who has since graduated. Now the Knights offense relies a lot on Kenavan and A.J. Reichert, who had a goal and three assists for North. And just as Kenavan hands out assists, he’s good with compliments.
   ”A.J. played attack last year so it’s nice to have him in the midfield,” Kenavan said. “Marc Raziano switched from defense to middie. A.J. is awesome. It’s easy playing with him because he creates a lot.
   ”Ernie was crazy. He would do some ridiculous things with the ball. We also lost a few kids who didn’t come out for the team. We knew we’d have to pick it up a little. Other people have stepped it up. Todd Petrone moved to attack and he’s done well.”
   Petrone scored the game-winner with 1:21 left after Princeton’s Mike Olentine had knotted the game, 6-6, with his third goal barely a minute earlier. The Little Tigers couldn’t tie it again as they fell to 4-3.
   ”I thought then it was anyone’s game at that point,” said Knights coach Steve Czelusniak, whose team takes on Hightstown on Saturday. “We had a tendency most of the game not to be smart with the ball. We took some bad shots. We weren’t very smart. Ultimately, we were pretty lucky that we could pull that one out.
   ”Princeton is tough. They have athletes all over the field. Either team could have won that game. It’s tough for them. They battled back and played hard. They didn’t give up and go away. Luckily, we were able to put one in at the end. Their goalie, (Jeff) Goeke, made some spectacular saves. With a lesser goalie, we’re up four or five at halftime instead of three.”
   The Knights, though, kept firing away at Goeke, who finished with 11 saves. WW-P North held a 27-22 shot advantage.
   ”He made some incredible saves,” Kenavan said. “I remember he jumped up in the air when we faked on and when we shot it low he kicked it. He was very good. It was frustrating. We just had to keep throwing balls at the goal.”
   At the other end, the Knights got solid goaltending from Killian Brakel. He made eight saves, including two to preserve the win after Petrone’s game-winner.
   ”Killian made some key saves for us down the stretch,” Czelusniak said. “What goes kind of unnoticed is two of the guys that played both ends of the field, A.J. Reichert and Drew Kenavan. They’re going end to end. A.J., at the Hopewell game, he took over the game when it was in the balance. I didn’t think we’d blow them out like we did. A.J. was picking up ground balls and getting it from the defensive end to offensive end. And Drew has been solid. You don’t normally see midfielders with more assists than your attackmen. Those two guys have been key for us.”
   While Reichert began contributing for the varsity when he was a freshman, Kenavan made his debut last year as a sophomore.
   ”I feel a lot more comfortable on the field,” Kenavan said. “Last year, I was a little more nervous. This year, the offense comes more from me and A.J. Last year, it was from Ernie dodging everything. This year, it’s opposite.”
   The midfield tandem has helped the Knights start strong again, though they had hoped for a third straight win against their rivals from WW-P South. They have come back with wins over Robbinsville and Princeton.
   ”We came back strong today,” Kenavan said. “We had Robbinsville. It was a tough game. It was freezing. We were kind of sloppy in that game, we felt. After South, it was tough. We thought we could have done better. Overall, our defense is our strong point. We just have to work on our offense a little.
   ”We just have to be a little more patient on offense,” he explained. “We tend to force things a lot. We’re starting to get it. We just have to be more patient on offense.”
   Kenavan can help the Knights at either end of the field. He takes most of their faces, then contributes wherever necessary.
   ”Drew played last year as a sophomore,” Czelusniak said. “He’s a good face-off guy. He’s a good athlete. He holds his own offensively as well as being a good defensive player.”
   Said Kenavan: “I started in seventh grade. Back then, I could just run and had no skill at all. They threw me in the midfield and I’ve been there ever since.”
   It’s worked out well, for Drew Kenavan, and for a WW-P North boys lacrosse team that is reaping the benefits of his active play in the midfield.