By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Luke Merrill wanted to make sure what was possibly his last game against his rival turned out for the best.
Merrill, a senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High South, scored a pair of goals and assisted on three others as the Pirates topped WW-P North, 7-5, last Saturday for their first win of the season.
As a senior on a relatively young squad, Merrill has started the season trying to help bring along some of the younger players. It has helped the Pirates to a 2-2 start, which included a 13-2 win over Lawrence on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of young kids and we’re teaching them a lot,” said Merrill, who recorded his 100th career point in the win over the Knights. “They are coming up well. Our starting attack today was all sophomores and they played really well. We have a good group of seniors but we also have a lot of young kids.
“I kind of envision myself when I was a young player and to think what I have learned since then and I try to teach them that. It’s always better to learn early rather than later.”
In the win over the Knights, the Pirates built an early lead only to see North rally tom tie the game early in the second half. But WW-P South responded and held on for the win.
“When we were going into the second half, our coach told us this was the last half we were ever going to play against North as seniors,” Merrill said. “We had played Madison in our first game and our coach told us Madison would be the toughest game we play and it really was. It taught us a lot and exposed a lot of the flaws that we have. We played really well on defense but we had a lot to learn and we learned a lot that game and in the few days since that game.”
The Pirates followed up their win with a 12-5 loss to Princeton before picking up the win over Lawrence. David Mattia, Tyler Shankoff and Willie Ethridge each scored three goals against Lawrence, while Merrill added a pair.
The Pirates face a pair of tough tests coming up as they host Hopewell Valley today before taking on Johnson Regional on Monday.
“We went up North and played a really great Madison team,” South coach Geoff Chrisman said. “The kids saw what it takes to be at that elite level and it just upped our practice this week. They really worked hard in getting prepared for this game.
“We have 16 sophomores on the team and a bunch of juniors who play also so we are a relatively young team. Holding on in the second half is a big credit to our senior leadership. There are not many of them, but they are able to keep us cool and calm. We didn’t lose our minds when that happened and we were able to keep grinding away.”
Having a player like Merrill that the Pirates can lean on certainly helps. His veteran presence helped in the win over the Knights.
“It’s an emotional game because it is North,” Chrisman said. “The kids learned how to deal with the emotion and just fighting in a close game. To see them come back and have us keep the lead is a great lesson for us.
“Luke had three assists today which is really big. I think Luke has really embraced what we are trying to do on offense and he is doing a terrific job of being a player and a leader. He had an outstanding game.”
The Knights fell to 0-2 with the loss to the Pirates, but bounced back with a 12-8 win over Rancocas Valley on Monday. Kyle Siegler had four goals and three assists to reach 100 points for his career in the win over RV. Bobby Hendry also scored four goals, while Tyrell Williams added three goals. Sarang Alladi had five assists.
“Ioannis Stainos suffered a broken clavicle in our first game and his presence will be missed,” North coach Chris Petrone said after the loss to South. “He has started since his freshman year and he is high on our point total and goal scoring list.
“We played Notre Dame a tight first half and his injury took some wind out of our sails a little bit. We have a lot of seniors, 15 total, but we also have young guys. We have a bunch of them on attack including some freshmen.”
The face Hightstown today and Hillsborough on Monday before a tough stretch of games on the road that includes Hopewell Valley, Montgomery and Robbinsville.
