WW-PN’s golden goal ends battle of titans
By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
PLAINSBORO — It was a game neither team deserved to lose.
But…
”Someone has to advance when it is a tournament,” Princeton High boys’ soccer coach Wayne Sutcliffe said after his team dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the Central Jersey Group III semifinals on Monday.
”It was us last time in the Mercer County Tournament. Unfortunately for us it is North this time. I think this is kind of like the way it was in the MCT, this is kind of like the final.”
When the two teams met in the MCT semifinals last month, it was Princeton that prevailed in overtime. This time, WW-P North erased a 1-0 halftime deficit and tied the game on a goal by Mike Totaro. Then in overtime, Stefan Bebenov took a perfect feed from Scott Kelly and scored the game-winner.
”We did not want a repeat of the Mercer County Tournament,” said Bebenov, who scored just his second goal of the season. “So we just came out and played our game.”
With the windy conditions playing a factor, Princeton scored first on a goal by Sam Kotowski, his school-record 31st of the season. The Knights had the wind at their backs in the second half, with Totaro scoring to even the game.
In overtime, North won the coin flip and had the wind at its back for the first 10 minutes. It took just six minutes for the Knights to score.
”It was a concern,” Sutcliffe said of playing into the wind the first part of overtime. “I thought if we could get through those 10 minutes, I liked our chances. And I really liked our chances in PKs. But the wind and the sun were huge factors.
”All credit to North. They brought the ball down and moved it well. They put some pressure on us and converted a good goal.”
Kelly, whose 11 goals lead a balanced North offense, broke free and found Bebenov on a breakaway. His goal just eluded the fingertips of Princeton goalie Steven Hellstern.
The win gives the Knights a chance to defend their CJ III title, which they’ll do on their home field on Thursday at 2 p.m. against Wall, a 5-0 winner over Ocean in the other semifinal. The Knights know they got there by beating as a tough a team as they’ll see all year.
”We knew going into this how big it was going to be,” Kelly said. “They were our only loss in the Mercer County Tournament and the regular season. That gave us a lot of motivation towards this game. It was a bigger stage. It was a win or go home situation. In the course of practices leading up to this game we were so anxious to just get out there and play.
”You have to tip your hat to Princeton. They’re a great team and we knew going into it they would not go down without a fight. They’re offense and defense are solid. They’re great players and we have a lot of respect for each other. It showed today.”
Princeton had an early lead and had hoped to add another score before halftime, which it did not. And at the end of regulation, the Little Tigers nearly scored against the wind.
”I thought we should have had two or three goals in the first half,” said Sutcliffe, whose team finished the season 17-4. “If you don’t take advantage of those on a windy day, you know the other team is going to have the same number of opportunities in the second half. We got one, which we were happy about. But I knew it was going to be a concern as the game moved forward we would need another one.”
Unfortunately for the Little Tigers, it never came.