KNOCKED OUT: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Alex Ratzan, left, battles for the ball in recent action. Last week, Ratzan and third-seeded PHS fell 3-1 to seventh-seeded Freehold Township in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional semifinals. The defeat in the November 10 contest left the Little Tigers with a final record of 16-2-3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

A downpour pelted the players the Princeton High boys’ soccer team as it hosted Freehold Township last week in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional semifinals.

Weathering an early storm from third-seed PHS, seventh seeded Freehold took an early 1-0 lead off of a free kick in the November 10 contest.

“In the first 10 minutes, it was all in their half,” said PHS junior forward Alex Ratzan. “They did a good job on the free kick.”

Minutes later, rumbling in the distance turned into a thunderstorm with a bit of hail and the contest was delayed for 53 minutes.

After play resumed, Freehold shocked the Little Tigers, scoring two goals to take a 3-0 lead at halftime.

While Ratzan felt the delay didn’t negatively impact PHS, he acknowledged that the Little Tigers were out of sorts when play resumed.

“When I got back on the field, I felt like it was the same game,” said Ratzan. “We were working hard to get the goal back. They did a good job of getting under our skin and we lost it a little bit. We were putting everything out there but we became too manic.”

After halftime, PHS threw everything at Freehold, dominating possession and generating a number of opportunities. The Little Tigers broke through as senior defender Dwight Donis scored with 25 minutes left in regulation. Minutes later, the Little Tigers generated a penalty kick but failed to convert. Freehold was able to hold PHS off from there, earning a hard-fought 3-1 triumph which left them hugging and the Little Tigers players shocked, several of them crying in the wake of the season-ending loss.

“In the second half, it got a little chaotic but we were playing more soccer,” said Ratzan.

“We got in behind them a few times, we did dig a little bit of a hole. There were a couple of shots on target that we had. The penalty obviously was a good job by everybody. The fact that we won it and got in that position was good.”

For the shifty Ratzan, who made some dazzling runs through the Freehold defense in the second half, having the chance to impact things was heartening after a tough sophomore season.

“Personally, I was happy being able to play this year,” said Ratzan. “Last year I had a bad injury.”

On the whole, it was an unhappy ending as PHS
suffered only its second loss in a 16-2-3 campaign.

“You can’t always expect to get the best out of everything,” said Ratzan. “We had a lot of things go against us.”

PHS head coach Wayne Sutcliffe acknowledged that his team was not at its best in the loss to Freehold.

“Conceding early is not the end of the world but I thought with the rain delay, it was just tricky,” said Sutcliffe. “It just wasn’t our day but no excuses, we still should have been better.”

The Little Tigers were much better down the stretch of the game. “I am so proud of the way our guys responded in the second half; that is what this Princeton team is all about,” said Sutcliffe. “We could have come within one; their goalie had a big day.”

Sutcliffe was pleased with Ratzan’s big effort throughout the postseason. “He was great; in our whole tournament run he was flying,” said Sutcliffe.

“He is one of our most improved players, I just can’t wait to coach him next year in his senior season.”

While this year ended with frustration, Sutcliffe was proud of what his squad accomplished.

“It was a very successful season; it was disappointing in the sense that it was our first year on Group 4 and we had two good games in the tournament,” said Sutcliffe.

“Last Friday’s game was great (a 3-1 win over sixth-seeded East Brunswick in the sectional quarters). We finished the regular season undefeated and we won the CVC outright. We made it to the semis of the MCT.  We just didn’t have enough of a break in the tournaments.”

Sutcliffe credited the team’s Class of 2016 with leaving a special legacy. “We had 15 seniors and they have won everything you could win in New Jersey soccer except a state championship, not many teams or players in New Jersey can say that,” said Sutcliffe, whose senior group was led by tri-captains Chris Harla, Pete Luther, and Cole Snyder.

“From day one, they came in here in 2012 with an undefeated freshman team, they scored 84 goals and gave up four and they just kept getting better. Their class had more success than I think just about any other class in my days here. They won the league title twice, they won the MCT, they won the sectional title. They finished the regular season undefeated so what can you say?”

In Ratzan’s view, it was a special fall, notwithstanding the final result. “It was a big year, we had 21 games and only two losses, that speaks for itself,” said Ratzan. “We did a great job, a couple of things could change but we had a great team.”