Ealy showed scoring touch
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Followers of Princeton High School boys soccer were caught by surprise when Chase Ealy turned into a scoring machine.
But for Ealy and head coach Wayne Sutcliffe, his scoring goals came as no surprise at all.
The junior has spent most of his career at Princeton High playing a defensive role. But when John Blair went down with an injury, the Little Tigers moved Ealy forward, which is where he plays for his club soccer team.
”I have always been a forward,” Ealy said. “I have played striker for my club team. Last year when I came onto the varsity at Princeton, Coach Sutcliffe said he needed a left back so I moved back. At the school level, the only place I had played was left back. I was happy to play there and that was what was best for team. But when they gave me a shot at striker I was not uncomfortable.”
Ealy responded well to the move, which coincided with the start of the Central Jersey Group III tournament. In Princeton’s opening-round game, Ealy scored two goals and added an assist in a 4-0 win over Neptune. In the quarterfinals three days later, he scored two more goals in a 3-0 win over Hopewell Valley.
”The move was very natural for him and it was something we had planned since the early days of the season,” Sutcliffe said. “He started at outside left back as sophomore. So he cut his teeth doing that. He can play wide or forward. He is a very versatile player who is willing to do whatever we ask him to do to help the team.”
Chase Ealy is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
”He came in as a freshman in 2011 and had a good freshman year,” Sutcliffe said. “He transitioned through the year earning the respect of the older guys and now his performance all season long speaks for itself.
”He contributes in so many ways. At the beginning of the season he was at outside back and he was fantastic. Then we slot him up front and he scores the game-winner in both of our playoff games. I can’t say enough about his quality and workmanship. I am looking forward to his senior year.”
Ealy had scored just two goals all season before he connected for his four goals in the two state tournament games. But even though he wasn’t scoring during the season, he still felt like a part of the offense.
”I only had two goals in the regular season, but I think I contributed a lot to the offense,” Ealy said. “I was not a scoring threat but I felt like I helped with the transition from defense to offense. With John out I pushed forward and had a chance at forward to score goals.”
Princeton started the season well before going through a six-game stretch just before the state tournament where they went 1-4-1. But with the help of Ealy on the offensive end, the Little Tigers straightened things out for the state tournament.
”We hit a rough patch midseason,” Ealy said. “But with us no matter what we do in the regular season we always expect to play well when the tournament comes around.
”Losing all those seniors was tough. We lost a lot of big guys on the field and also lost a lot of leadership and strong personalities. We had good captains with Aiden (Passanante) and Zach (Halliday). I have been doing my best as a junior to step up and help the younger guys. We had a lot of seniors step up this year with Kevin (Halliday) and John (Blair). But we also had a lot of young guys who were new to the varsity.
”It is always good to see the new younger kids coming in. They are clearly talented and will have no problem stepping up when this sophomore class becomes juniors.”
Perhaps those players will take notice of what Ealy did this year, helping the Little Tigers wherever he was needed.
”I have always been able to play wherever Coach needed me to play,” Ealy said. “When we needed a left back I was happy to do my part. I was in a similar role this year but have always wanted to play striker and felt that was where I could help the most. When I got the opportunity, I thought I had to make the most of it.”