Goalie carries PHS into county boys soccer finals
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
EWING — It doesn’t get any better than this for a goalie.
Or, for that matter just about any soccer player.
Princeton High School senior goalkeeper Laurenz Reimitz came up with two huge saves in overtime and then added two more during penalty kicks to help lift the Little Tigers to a win over Steinert in the semifinals of the Mercer County Tournament on Wednesday night at Ewing High.
”It was an unbelievable night,” said Reimitz, who also converted one of Princeton’s four penalty kicks. “I didn’t think it was going to happen like that. I thought it was going to be a quiet game. As a goalkeeper that is what you like.”
It was anything but quiet for Reimitz and the Little Tigers. After falling behind, 1-0, on an early second-half goal by Steinert. Princeton drew even when Nick Kapp scored off a feed from Chase Ealy. The game remained tied through regulation and overtime before heading to penalty kicks.
In the penalty kick phase, Ealy, Cole Snyder, Andrew Goldsmith and Reimitz converted for Princeton, while Reimitz turned away two of the three Spartan shots he faced in goal.
With the win the Little Tigers advanced to the MCT final for the first time since 2011. Second-seeded Princeton will face top-seeded Allentown on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Ewing in the championship game.
”Inside your head is going crazy but on the outside you have to act calm and that is just what I tried to do,” said Reimitz, a three-year starter in goal for the Little Tigers. “It was just reactions, I guess. Any goalkeeper, there is not much going through his mind, it is just reaction.”
For Reimitz, the overtime and penalty kicks came on the heels of a strong regulation.
”He was terrific tonight,” said Princeton coach Wayne Sutcliffe, whose team improved to 14-2-1. “He has worked so hard. He put together all the experience he has. He is a three-year starter who has played in the state final as a sophomore. He found a way. He leads the CVC in shutouts.
”Lorenz is special. He has worked so hard. As a sophomore he was behind a great team. Last year we had a young team and he gained in his strengths and got better at the things he needed to work on. And he never gets rattled.”
He wasn’t rattled when he stepped to the line to take what turned out to be the clinching penalty kick, which he slipped into the lower left corner of the goal.
”In practice I have taken them,” Reimitz said. “We’ve never been to a penalty shootout since I have been here. Coach trusts me to take PKs and he asked if I wanted to take one and I said yes. It wasn’t a great penalty but it worked.”
Princeton will be looking for its first MCT title since 2010 when it faces Allentown. That title was the fourth in five years for the Little Tigers, who will look to end their championship “drought” when they take on the Redbirds.
”Zach Halliday sent us a text from Tufts wishing the team good luck,” Sutcliffe said. “It had been since 2011 that we were back to the finals. Two years without it seems long. We were just so happy to get back to the semi and make the most of our chances.”
Princeton never seemed to get rattled even after falling behind by a goal with 28 minutes to play in the second half. The Little Tigers also never wilted after Steinert had two great scoring chances in the first overtime period.
”I thought we regained our composure a little bit,” Sutcliffe said. “We got more of the ball and I thought our fitness worked to our advantage. That is something Carlos (Salazar) does a great job with us during the season. Beyond that we played Allentown to an overtime game a couple weeks ago and went 97 minutes. We were pretty confident that once we got to OT we would have a good chance. Even if it went 100 minutes and went to PKs we were pretty confident.”
Kapp’s goal got Princeton even and set the stage for overtime.
”He has been great,” Sutcliffe said of Kapp. “He worked so hard and just found a way to get on the right side of that. It was an incredibly important moment for us and he is at his best at an important point in the season. I am just so proud of him.”
And the Little Tigers were proud of Reimitz, who had his biggest night as a Little Tiger.
”I got a little bit lucky sophomore year with one goalkeeper deciding not to play that would have been the starting goalkeeper and that gave me so much experience,” Reimitz said. “I’ve just tried to build on that and get better. It’s a great feeling.”