By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Quentin Pompliano was right where he was supposed to be. And that worked out just fine for the Princeton High boys soccer team.
Pompliano moved forward from his outside back position and delivered a perfect service to Noam Davidov, whose scored the only goal of the game as the Little Tigers topped Trenton, 1-0, on Monday to improve to 14-1 and lock up the CVC Colonial Division title.
“The first title is always great,” said Pompliano, a junior who is in his first season as a starter for Princeton. “We won it last year as well so we were looking to do it again. It was definitely a tough run. There are some great teams in the CVC. Robbinsville had a great year this year. Trenton is doing great, as is Hopewell. So we had a lot of competition.”
Pompliano has made a smooth adjustment to a new position for the Little Tigers. He’s moved back to an outside back position, but has remained a threat on offense. He has scored five goals on a team that has plenty of offensive firepower. He also delivered a huge assist at just the right time against Trenton.
“I sort of saw the open space on the left and I saw that Drew Beamer was looking to play over the top,” Pompliano said. “I made the run and he found me. I did a couple touches in the corner and played it across and found Noam and he had a great finish.
“That is part of our game, playing through the wing backs. Getting into that open space in the outside is one of our main attacking strategies.”
With solid offensive players like Davidov (10 goals), Alex Ratzan (eight goals), Andrew Goldsmith (eight goals) and Beamer (six goals), there is no shortage of offensive weapons for the Little Tigers. Pompliano was more than happy to make the move to the back to help Princeton where he was needed most.
“For my club team, I am not a defender,” Pompliano said. “I didn’t come into the season as a defender. I came into the season as a midfielder or a striker. But Coach (Wayne Sutcliffe) moved me back because of a lack of left backs and I have a left foot. he put me back there and I like it.
“Since preseason I have been playing there so I am kind of used to it now. It was an adjustment. I have never played defense before. With Noam, Alex, Andrew and Drew Beamer, we have a great team of clinical finishers.”
The showdown with Trenton gave the Little Tigers a strong test as they prepared to open the Mercer County Tournament on Thursday against Nottingham. The Tornadoes came into the game with a 10-2 record and gave Princeton all it could handle for 90 minutes.
“The new freshman is very good,” Pompliano said of Trenton’s Dontouma Toure. “He gave us a run for our money. We were definitely challenged back there. They also have the other kid (Jaime Chavez) up top working his magic. I thought they were very good. But we played well as a defensive unit.”
With a CVC title in hand, Princeton will now set its sights on the MCT and later the Central Jersey Group IV tournament. This year’s group has come together well and is playing its best at the right time of year.
“Last year we had 16 seniors, all who had great experience in the high school game,” Pompliano said. “Most of the seniors last year had made the team as sophomores. My freshman year we went on to make the state final. Last year we didn’t have that great of a tournament run or MCTs, but we’re bouncing back. I think it has a lot to do with our will to win. Even though we don’t have the most experienced players, we have good players.”
