By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Matt Stein helped the West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys soccer team kick off the start of the season Tuesday with a 3-1 win over Somerville.
It’s something that he hopes will happen plenty in his final year in the program. The senior is in his fourth year starting, but this one feels different already.
“Just every year, it always seems there’s a long season and there’s always more time,” Stein said. “Coming into the season, I realized it’s just two more months, and then there’s no more high school soccer. There’s much more of a sense for urgency than I had previously.”
Stein is one of five seniors on a Pirates team that overall has a lot more experience on the field than last year’s 6-10-2 side. Most of last year’s players were seeing their first year of varsity.
“We have a good core,” Stein said. “A lot of guys are more mature. They’ve grown into their bodies. They’re more ready than last year.”
The Pirates are banking on a year of experience to help push themselves to a better mark this season. It got off to a good start with a win on a sweltering Opening Day.
“They’re a solid team,” said Pirates head coach Bryan Fisher. “I think they had 15 seniors. They were 9-9 out of Somerset County. They’re a good out of conference challenge and we came away with a good result. We did what we wanted to do. We felt we played pretty well.”
WW-P South built a 2-1 halftime lead then added an insurance goal in the second half. Luke Hansen, Steven Ocampo and Dima Tymofyeye all scored for the Pirates with Anthony Amore and Stein collecting assists. It was an encouraging start.
“You’re never a finished product on Sept. 8,” Fisher said. “I was encouraged by two newcomers, Luke Hansen, who’s a sophomore defender and Steven Ocampo, who is a sophomore forward. Both got goals in their first varsity game. We welcomed them to the varsity team and hope we see more of that.”
The Pirates were looking to take that effort into Thursday’s scheduled game against rival West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
“I think it really gives us a bit of confidence,” Stein said. “Everybody wishes we finished more chances. We weren’t that happy even though we scored three.”
Luke Balestrieri stopped six shots behind a defense that helped limit Somerville’s scoring. It was a good start overall for the Pirates.
“We have a really balanced roster this year,” Stein said. “We have a bunch of guys that play club. Even guys that don’t, they’re good. In every positon, we have a guy who’s a standout. We can shuffle around the lineup.”
Stein has been most consistently placed on defense at center back through the years. He started his Pirates career at center midfield, then moved to outside back as a sophomore until the end of the season when he returned to center midfield, then last year he played mostly center back.
“It’s where I feel most comfortable,” Stein said. “It’s where I’ll play in college. It’s easier to lead from there because I can see the whole field. I think that’s been very valuable for us.”
Stein, who shares captain duties with Balestrieri and Aaron Dean, had the perfect vantage point to see the Pirates counter attack well against Somerville. WW-P South created and finished more scoring chances than Somerville did, and the Pirates defense played well at the other end. Things continue to come together for them.
“I thought we played a pretty good preseason schedule,” Fisher said. “We had four scrimmages, teams from basically all over. The guys worked hard in the summer to be ready. We’re bringing back 10 guys from last year’s team so we have some continuity. We’re still putting the pieces together but I think we’ve made good strides since Aug. 17.”
Stein agreed: “We have a bunch of guys from a bunch of different club teams. Preseason was key for getting our chemistry back together. We’re starting to show we can be good as a team. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
The returning experience is one reason for such optimism. Stein is confident that the Pirates have the intangibles necessary for a good year on top of the talent.
“At times we were better than our record last year,” Stein said. “I don’t think we brought it. We didn’t have that mental edge. I think we have it this year. We kept up giving goals at bad times. I see more mental toughness this year and that makes me confident going forward.”
Progress has been steady through the preseason with the returners and the newcomers have made a quick impact.
“I think last year, we weren’t that far off,” Fisher said. “We were 6-10-2, but I thought we played some competitive games with teams in the county. You can see this year they’re a year older and a year stronger. You can see they’re playing with more confidence. It’s my job to try to make them the best they can be. I’m looking forward to the challenge. The group, generally, they like being around each other and that’s an important thing.”
Stein sees a more upbeat team that is enjoying the start to the season. The trick will be sustaining that energy through to the end.
“I feel really good about this year,” Stein said. “Freshman year, we had a good team. We finished at the top of the (CVC) Colonial (Division). It was a special team, but we collapsed in the second half. I think we’re a lot closer together on this team and we’re ready to go and do well in October rather than falter.”
The closeness could make the difference in the end. The opening win was just a starting point for a team that is set up to be special.
“I think it’s the continuity, bringing a lot of guys back,” Fisher said. “They know each other. They’re working for each other this year. They generally like being around each other. It takes time to build. It takes time to cultivate.”
