By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys soccer team knows all about getting hot at the right time.
Last year the Pirates played their best soccer in late October and parlayed that success into a trip to the Mercer County Tournament finals. This year’s version has been up and down through most of the season, but the Pirates feel like they have the talent to duplicate last year’s tournament run.
“Around this time last year we rallied together and went on a nice run,” senior co-captain Akul Agarwal said after the Pirates’ 3-2 win over Lawrence on Monday. “I think we have the talent to do it again. Most of the guys we have were here last year so they know what we are capable of. They were younger but they were there.
“The last few games we have had some ups and downs. We’ve lost to teams that we should not have lost to. Last week against Nottingham we felt like we dominated the whole game and we couldn’t put the ball in the net. It’s nice to get a win but we made it harder than we had to.”
The Pirates opened the season with three wins in their first four games, but have been up and down since and took a 7-5 record into Thursday’s scheduled game against Hamilton. Finding consistency is something the team hopes to do down the stretch of the season.
“We started 3-1 and then we were 4-4 and then we won two and then lost to Nottingham,” South coach Bryan Fisher said. “We have done some good things. We need this win (against Lawrence) to get into the state tournament so it was a big win for us. We would have liked to have finished better and scored more goals, but we also think we can still do some good things this year.
“Soccer is a great game. Sometimes it can be cruel and sometimes it is very rewarding and that is good thing. You learn lessons as you go along with the journey of the season.”
For Agarwal and the rest of the South seniors, this is their last journey as Pirates. They would like to make the best of their time together on the field.
“You kind of take it for granted when you’re a younger kid,” Agarwal said. “You just worry about yourself. As a captain, now you have to worry about the whole team and getting everyone to play together. I’ve grown to like the role.
“As a senior every game is a last. I won’t be able to play with these guys again after this season.”
Agarwal is a player whose role has changed while with the Pirates. Fisher knows he has a player willing to do whatever is needed to help the team, which is something every coach relishes.
“He’s a captain and a true student-athlete,” Fisher said. “Akul is a great role model for the younger kids at South. He aspires to play at the next level. He scored a bunch of goals sophomore and junior year, but this year we asked him to play more in the midfield and he is doing a great job on offense and defense. He’s a great kid. He has six or seven assists this season. We’ve talked about him finishing his senior year off the right way and I think he is doing that.”
In the win over Lawrence, Ramsesses Moore-McGuiness scored twice and Anthony Amore added a goal for the Pirates. Fisher hopes his team can build some momentum off the win.
“We are a good team,” the South coach said. “We feel we can go anywhere on the road and win. Last year we started 9-0 and then lost four of five and then we made a run to the MCT final. This year we’re a little different in that we win some and lose some. We’ve played 10 one-goal games. I don’t think we haven’t seen anything we’re going to see and that is a positive. We have been in almost every situation.
“We have strong seniors and juniors and our sophomores are doing a good job. We are a good team hoping to take that next step to be very good.”
