ON TRACK: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Thomas Reid tracks the ball in a 2017 game. Senior defender Reid led a spirited effort on the back line last Thursday as PHS tied WW/P-North 0-0 through regulation and two overtimes. The Little Tigers, who dropped to 2-2-2 with a 1-0 loss to Allentown last Monday, play at Ewing on September 26 and at Elizabeth on September 29 before hosting Hamilton West on October 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton High boys’ soccer team played at WW/P-North last Thursday night, it found itself under the gun for most of the first half as the hosts controlled possession, generating a number of opportunities.

But a masked man on the PHS back line rose above the rest to repeatedly thwart the undefeated Northern Knights as they failed to find the back of the net.

Wearing black protective gear to shield a broken nose, PHS senior defender and co-captain Thomas Reid continually stuck his head in the action to spearhead the Little Tiger defense.

“We knew they were a solid team coming in and that their midfield was pretty good,” said Reid. “They came our firing at us and we really had to hold it down as a defense.”

PHS kept holding WW/P-N off as the teams deadlocked in a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtime periods.

“We tried to keep it tight, that just comes with improvement,” said Reid. “We got the midfield a little more in there, trying to win the ball more. I am proud of our defense, the way we handled it.”

Wearing the mask makes it harder for Reid to handle the ball.

“It is different, you kind of lose peripheral vision; this does a good job protecting it except it is a little bulky,” said Reid, who broke his nose in a 1-1 tie with Robbinsville on September 12.

“I have to look all the way down to see where the ball is on my feet, so coming up to kick, I don’t exactly see where I am kicking the ball. On one here, I tried to clear it and I kicked it out of bounds.”

Coming into this fall, the battle-tested Reid was looking to be a team leader for the Little Tigers.

“I didn’t have to be in leadership role last year because we had so many guys; now coming in as a senior, I was fired up and I was ready to lead these boys,” said Reid.

“We try to work with these young guys to get them better every day and get them more varsity experience. This is PHS boys’ soccer and it is tough. We demand a lot. I am glad I can captain these boys out in the field and just try to encourage them as much as possible to give it their all.”

PHS head coach Wayne Sutcliffe was encouraged by how his squad improved through the contest against the Northern Knights.

“They were bossing the game; we grew quite a bit, just in terms of learning how to absorb that and adjust,” said Sutcliffe.

“We grew into the game, which is an excellent sign. That is a credit to our mentality. We transitioned into getting more of the ball and getting a little more dangerous and tightening up defensively.”

Sutcliffe credits Reid with growing into a force along the back line for the Little Tigers.

“Reid absorbed all of the pressure for us; he was fantastic,” said Sutcliffe. “His courage, his commitment, his quality, what else can you say. He has to keep doing that if we are going to make a run and win some prizes.”

On the offensive end of the field, PHS made some good runs as it pressured WW/P-N through the second half and the overtime periods.

“Nick [Petruso] and Josh [Nieman] got dangerous, they found some moments,” added Sutcliffe.

“Seb [Ratzan] found some moments. On a tight field like this, it is not easy to get free and build into the front third but we did our best.”

In Sutcliffe’s view, the Little Tigers’ best soccer is ahead of it.

“We are in a good place; there are times when we have six sophomores in the field at the same time,” said Sutcliffe, whose team fell 1-0 to Allentown last Monday to move 2-2-2 and will play at Ewing on September 26 and at Elizabeth on September 29 before hosting Hamilton West on October 1. “They are really good and we are going to get better. We are going to keep getting better and better.”

Reid, for his part, saw the draw with the Northern Knights as a good step forward.

“This is our first clean sheet of the season; I couldn’t be happier,” said Reid. “The way you win games is to keep balls out of the net and I know the goals will come. We had some great offensive chances tonight. I was really happy with our defensive effort tonight and we can only improve off of this.”