FIGHTING TO THE END: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Quentin Pompliano, right, battles for the ball in state tournament action. Last Sunday, senior star Pompliano and PHS saw their magical postseason run end with a 3-1 loss to Kearny in the state Group 4 championship game. The Little Tigers finished the fall with a 17-6-1 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When the Princeton High boys’ soccer team fell behind powerhouse Kearny High 2-0 late in the second half last Sunday in the state Group 4 championship game at Kean University, it could have thrown in the towel.

Instead, PHS threw players forward, putting pressure on the Kardinals. With 2:14 remaining in regulation, the Little Tigers broke through as senior star midfielder Drew Beamer found the back of the net to make it a 2-1 game.

“I saw he [Kearny goalie] wasn’t going to jump correctly and it was going to go right over his head,” said Beamer in assessing his tally. “I just anticipated.”

That goal triggered a dramatic final sequence as PHS put Kearny on its heels, generating a corner kick with less than a minute remaining in regulation and knocking the ball into the box.

“The ball was bouncing around a lot and we couldn’t find a way to put it in,” said Beamer.

The Kardinals counterattacked and sealed the game by tallying on a breakaway with six seconds left to put the finishing touch on a 3-1 victory.

Beamer tipped his hat to second-ranked Kearny, which has now won 12 Group 4 state titles and ended the season with a 19-0-5 record.

“They are an incredible team; they move the ball well through the midfield and No. 10 [Jose Escandon] is a special player,” said Beamer.

PHS, for its part, enjoyed an incredible run to the final, knocking off three top-20 teams (No. 15 Monroe, No. 14 Hunterdon Central, and No. 16 Washington Township) in succession as it earned its first-ever Central Jersey Group 4 title and made its first Group 4 final, having been moved up from Group 3 in 2015.

“It is something we knew we could do, but it is also something we knew we would have to work really hard to get,” said Beamer, reflecting on the campaign which saw the Little Tigers end with a final record of 17-6-1.

“We had a lot of tenacity in the second half of the season, which I don’t think was there in the first half. It is a good way to go out.”

Beamer, for his part, is going out with a bang, tallying a team-high 22 goals this fall.

“I was in the right place at the right time for most of them; that is all I can ask for,” said Beamer.

“We have done a lot of work to get in the right spots. I am happy with how the guys played today; we just didn’t come out on top.”

With the PHS roster featuring 14 seniors, Beamer was happy to enjoy the tournament run with his classmates.

“We have been playing together forever so it is just good memories of being part of this program,” said Beamer. “I love playing with this team. We did a lot, we learned a lot.”

PHS head coach Wayne Sutcliffe loved the effort he got from his players to the final whistle.

“I am so proud of the way we battled, you can’t take away anything from the way we battled tonight,” said Sutcliffe.

“We easily could have gotten another goal but I just thought conceding the second one made it that much more difficult to pull level. We ran out of time in the game.”

The team’s defensive unit had a battle on its hands as it tried to contain Escandon, who tallied Kearny’s first two goals.

“I thought our back four played beautifully,” said Sutcliffe, referring to seniors Ian Jacobs, Noah Middlekauff, and Jun Hasegawa, along with junior Tommy Reid.

“When the 10 would gravitate out wide, every guy did as well as you could possibly do on an player of that level.

The Little Tigers did well to generate a number of chances after they fell behind.

“We had great urgency after we conceded, that is not uncharacteristic of this team at all,” said Sutcliffe. “We had so many close ones in there and there was a handball at the end when it was 2-1. It was too little, too late.”

Sutcliffe was not surprised that Beamer came through with the PHS goal.

“It is so fitting that Drew got one tonight to pull it out to 2-1,” said Sutcliffe. “He is the engine of the team. He is absolutely fantastic and he proved it tonight.”

In Sutcliffe’s view, the team’s core of seniors drove its success. “I can’t say enough about their four years in the team; they came in their freshman year in 2014 and they were undefeated,” said Sutcliffe.

“They just kept getting better and better. They showed commitment in the summer time, playing two nights in our alumni pick-up games, and working in the weight room all spring long, and then especially during the season. This is the 14th week straight that we have been at it six days a week. They achieved something that no other PHS boys’ soccer team ever achieved and that is their legacy. For that, they can be proud.”

In order to leave that legacy, the players had to do some soul searching as the Little Tigers struggled at times during the regular season.

“It was such a great run; it was so much fun and I am so proud of the way the team matured,” said Sutcliffe.

“There were certain guys whose level, maybe at midseason, needed to get better. We were honest with one another about that. They really did a fantastic job in terms of raising their level, meeting the demands of it all, and believing. These guys believed. We won five straight Group 4 games, including wins against three of the top teams in New Jersey.”

For Sutcliffe, who is in his 21st season at the helm of the program, the 2017 campaign will leave some fantastic memories.

“It is a whole new level of success because we are arguably the smallest Group 4 school in the tournament,” said Sutcliffe.

“Our player pool isn’t as large but we have so much quality. It is one of my favorite moments in my career here, the run this year, especially when we beat Monroe and then we beat Hunterdon Central and then we beat Washington Township. Just getting to this game, it is one of my favorite, most cherished moments with respect to it all.”

Beamer, for his part, will always cherish the moments of triumph with his teammates.

“It is the good times we had after the wins; the bus rides home after the good wins,” said Beamer, who has committed to attend Wheaton College (Illinois) and play for its men’s soccer program.

“I don’t think anyone really ever expected this so we were just going with it as it came; I think that was the best part. We didn’t do as well as we wanted to in the regular season so we didn’t try to prove anything, but we did come out here and do a good job.”