Girls soccer moves into semifinals
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Greg Hand likes the versatility he gets from Dana Smith.
”I remember a girl, Melissa Murowski, from Watchung Hills several years ago,” recalled Hand, the Princeton High girls soccer coach. “She was pretty much the same as Dana except she started up top and as soon as they scored a goal she moved to sweeper right away.”
Smith can generally be found in the back as the sweeper for the Little Tigers. But she moves forward often and plays a big role in each game. On Tuesday her play on defense, along with the rest of the players in the back and goalkeeper Lauren Ullmann, kept Ewing off the scoreboard in a 1-0 win in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.
”The idea there is that Dana is so sure footed and her judgment is so good and she is a courageous player,” said Hand, whose team got the only goal it needed when Ally Rogers scored off an assist from Kate Kerr. “To be courageous and heads up at the same time is a pretty good combination. She does things for us in the back that are special.
”She is a great sweeper. But because she is so fast and agile and can get to balls quickly and play them out of trouble quickly she creates conditions up top that are unique on our team. We like to bring her up there and see if she can help us get things done.”
The win over Ewing sent the Little Tigers into Thursday’s scheduled MCT semifinal against Pennington. The Princeton girls were the only Packet-area team to survive and reach the semifinals.
The Princeton boys played Pennington through a scoreless first half before the Red Raiders exploded for four goals in the second half and a 4-0 win. The West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys had also reached the quarterfinals, but dropped a 4-1 decision to top-seeded Allentown. Marcellino Lobato scored the lone goal for the Knights.
For the Princeton girls, the win meant a chance to try to unseat five-time defending champion Pennington. The MCT final is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Rider.
”It was such a fast game because both teams have so much speed and so the ball was going back and forth,” Smith said of Princeton’s win over Ewing. “On defense we’re pushing up and trying to get up and then they send the ball back down and we’re trying to recover quickly because girls are coming down fast.”
Smith is one of the quickest players on the field in any game the Little Tigers play. She plays forward and center midfield for her club team, but doesn’t mind at all her role of being a defender for the Little Tigers.
”Coach Hand has me move up and down depending on the team we are playing,” said Smith, who has scored two goals this season. “If he thinks I can help generate some scoring opportunities then I will go up there. But normally I start and play in the back to try to keep things organized and set because we have lost Emily Pawlak, who is our typical center back.”
Princeton improved to 12-2 with the win over Ewing. They have won 12 of 13 since an opening loss to Hopewell.
”Starting off the beginning of the season, we lost our home opener to Hopewell so it wasn’t really a bright start,” Smith said. “But since then something has clicked and we have managed to play really well as a team. We’re such a close team this year. We all love each other so much. We click and know where the runs are. We know where girls are going to be. The spirit on the whole field is positive.
”We had 11 new girls including six new freshmen and we had to get to know each other. Our coaches worked really hard to make a good team dynamic and have us work well together.”