By: centraljersey.com
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South boys soccer team couldn’t help but feel they had a little help last Friday night in a 1-0 overtime win over WW-P North.
"I’m so proud of these kids," said WW-P South coach Bryan Fisher, whose team won on a goal by Zack Rosenberg with less than eight minutes to play in the second overtime period. "We needed something good. We’ve been fighting hard and learning a lot about ourselves. He was looking down today and is proud of us. He’s proud of these kids and he’s proud of these seniors. They were terrific and they carried us today."
By He, Fisher was referring to former Pirates’ head coach Brian Welsh, who died shortly before the start of the season. It’s been a tough year for the Pirates on the soccer field, but the win over the Knights helped make up for some tough times.
"I just knew I was going to score, I had to," Rosenberg said. "This was our game of the season that we needed to redeem ourselves. The one chance I saw just had to get there and I got to it and I scored.
"We won this game for Welsh. It’s been a frustrating season but this game was a moral victory for us."
WW-P North had many more dangerous chances in the game, including several late in regulation and in the opening 10 minutes of overtime. But the Pirates took advantage of the best opportunity they had in overtime.
Nick Young had a great throw-in, followed by a shot of his own when the ball rebounded out of the box. Young’s shot was saved, but Rosenberg was there to knock in the rebound.
"They kept pushing and we capitalized on our chance," Rosenberg said. "Nick has that long throw-in, we have someone sit back post and I was there at the right time."
The win was the fourth of the season for the Pirates, who improved to 4-8-1. WW-P North slipped to 5-8 with the loss.
"It was really a microcosm of our season," Fisher said. "It was great to get the one we needed. And it was special to win against North. Trevor is a part of Brian as much as I am. I told him at the end that I love him and it’s been tough for both of us.
"I think people have been focused on us with everything that has happened, but it has also been tough on Trevor. He’s done a great job with them. We’re excited to get the win and we hope the last two weeks we have left we can continue to score some goals."
The Pirates were able to come away with the win thanks to a great all-around effort from the defense, which included defender Sota Kioke twice clearing the ball off the goal line.
"We play as a team and just think about protecting the goal and not letting them score," Kioke said. "We did not want them to get behind. We had to stay strong. Everyone did a great job.
"We have not won much and to win against North is so big."

