By: centraljersey.com
It was waaaay back on Sept. 17 that Princeton beat Hopewell Valley, 1-0, in boys soccer.
And today (Thursday) they will go at it again for much higher stakes.
By virtue of their 2-1 win over 9th-seeded Burlington Township Monday, the 8th-seeded Bulldogs (14-6) visit top-seeded Princeton for a second-round Central Jersey Group IV game.
The Little Tigers proved mortal on Saturday night when they fell to PDS in the Mercer County Tournament finals, their first loss in two years. But they are still the team to beat.
"We’re excited to get another crack at them," said Ryan Woods, who scored the winning goal against Township. "We’re always excited to play Princeton. We had a couple chances against them the first time, so we’re looking forward to it."
"We’re looking forward to it," agreed goalie Cody Funkhouser, who returned from a broken jaw to make nine saves against Township. "We wanted to be the team that beat them (to snap their winning streak) but unfortunately they lost. It’s gonna be a great game, I guess we’ll be ready to go."
Funkhouser was ready to go despite not having played since his injury on Sept. 23 against West Windsor-Plainsboro South. He was told his season was done, but the process got sped up.
"I could run, and a week before (last) Thursday I could catch and kick, but I couldn’t go diving and have full contact," Funkhouser said. "I still had a chance to practice, but it’s always tough to come back after six weeks."
Cody has been waiting for this opportunity after he went down," coach Ed Gola said. "He was able to come in Thursday cleared, we worked him out and felt pretty comfortable."
He kept Hopewell in the game early but could not stop a follow-up shot off a penalty kick as Township took a 1-0 lead. Enzo Cortet got it back by converting a PK with 1:30 left in the half, and Woods hit the game-winner out of a scramble in the second half.
After BT dominated much of the first half, HoVal took the play in the second, and now it’s on to face the defending Group III champ.
"If you’re gonna compete in the state tournament you want to play against some of the best teams," Gola said. "We have played some of the bigger better teams in the state and Princeton’s one of them."
