RISING STAR: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Pascale Carusone goes up for a header in recent action. Senior forward Carusone, who just joined the program this year, has emerged as a go-to finisher for PHS, tallying a team-high seven goals as the Tigers have gotten off to a 7-0 start. PHS plays at Nottingham on September 28 and at WW/P-South on September 30 before hosting Robbinsville on October 3. (Photo by Nicholas Niforatos)

By Bill Alden

During his first three years at Princeton High, Pasquale Carusone played a lot of soccer.

But Carusone honed his skills for MLS Next of the Players Development Academy (PDA) and didn’t compete at all for PHS.

This fall, Carusone, who has committed to play at the college level for the University of Rochester, decided it was finally time to play for the Tigers.

“It is my senior year, I definitely have to play for my high school,” said Carusone. “A lot of kids were giving me stuff for it and saying we could go super far with you this year.”

The PHS players welcomed Carusone with open arms. “They were happy to see me, they have been wanting me to come out for three years,” said Carusone. “I have known the Smith [junior midfielder Archie and freshman midfielder Harvey] brothers for a while, I have played club with them forever. We jelled quick, it wasn’t like it took a few games.”

Carusone quickly established his presence at forward, scoring three goals as PHS got off to a 4-0 start.

“I feel like more of a goal scorer, I am definitely a finisher,” said Carusone. “We have a lot of midfielders in there, Archie, Felipe [Matar Grandi], Matt [Kim], and Harvey are great.”

Hosting Hopewell Valley last week posed a great challenge for PHS.

“We talked about it before the game that we haven’t won against them in four years,” said Carusone. “This was definitely a big game for us and definitely a big game for PHS. We knew what we had to come out to do.”

Carusone came out on fire against the Bulldogs, tallying a goal 17 seconds into the contest, converting a feed from senior defender Nick Matese.

“We have been trying that all year, we have had Nick just kind of bobbing up,” said Carusone. “It just so happened it was a great pass by Nick; it went 60, 70 yards for sure and I see the opening. I was able to turn and I saw that the goalie wasn’t ready for the shot, and I just took it.”

HoVal, though, responded by generating several corner kicks and the rivals went into halftime with PHS clinging to its 1-0 lead.

Midway through the second half, Carusone found the back of the net again, volleying a pass from junior defender Connor Hewitt over the head of the Bulldog goalie to make it a 2-0 game.

“It was a great pass by Connor,” said Carusone. “It came in and I saw it. I just took it with that right foot and struck it to that top corner.”

With that cushion, PHS took care of business from there and snapped the losing streak against HoVal as it prevailed by that 2-0 margin.

“I think we have a great team this year, we are going to go far,” said Carusone, who scored two more goals as PHS defeated Lawrence High 2-0 last Thursday in a bottle of undefeated squads. “Our starters are great, we have a great bench. There is a lot of energy on this team. Everyone on the bench is looking to get in — there is no drop off. We have Brian [Donis] coming off the bench. He has two goals, he  is great. We have Matt [Chao] coming off the bench. There are a lot of kids on this team that could start for other teams.”

PHS first year head coach Ryan Walsh liked the energy his team brought into the clash with HoVal.

“We knew we hadn’t beaten this team since 2019,” said Walsh. “We were really ready and excited for this game. These guys, all they want to do is win. Their chemistry is great.”

The Tigers showed they were ready to go with the early tally. “It is a great start, it brings its own challenges because you have to kill the game for 80 minutes,” said Walsh. “But I would rather be up 1-0 than down 1-0.”

Carusone has been a great addition for PHS, providing a missing piece to the Tiger attack.

“That second goal was huge and just him being a part of this team this year, he has really fit right in,” said Walsh. “He came around this summer and the guys are really excited to have him. He has fit in right in the puzzle. Last year we had a quality team as well, but we didn’t have a go-to scorer. We were young but having a guy you can count on for a goal or two a game is huge.”

At the other end of the field, a battle-tested Tiger back line has stifled its foes, not giving up a goal so far this season.

“Nick Matese, our captain, is amazing, he is the glue to that back four,” asserted Walsh. “With Jamie [Reynolds], Patrick [Kenah], and Connor [Hewitt], these four guys are a veteran group that has played a lot of minutes together over the years.”

Junior goalie Nick Holmelund had it together against HoVal, recording eight saves in earning the shutout.

“Nick has grown so much in the last 12 months; last year, he was just a sophomore and now he is much more mature,” said Walsh. “He was terrific today. There have been a couple of games where he hasn’t had to make a lot of saves, but he came up big here. On that one early in the second half, he made a huge save. When you make a huge save, it really brings the team up.”

Walsh is excited by the terrific brand of soccer the Tigers have produced so far this fall.

“I am happy that we are winning games, I am happy that our performance is good in each game,” said Walsh, whose squad edged Princeton Day School 1-0 in double overtime last Saturday to improve to 7-0 and has now scored 19 goals this fall and yielded none. “I tell these guys that it is early and it is one game at a time. It is a long season. Injuries come into play with the grind of the season and the school year. It is just day-by-day.”

In Walsh’s view, PHS possesses the depth and intensity to handle the grind.

“It is the quality that we have top to bottom — the training sessions are really competitive,” said Walsh. “We have some young guys who are really good. Donis has been playing great for us off the bench. Matt Chao is coming off the bench. They bring a good spark.”

Carusone believes that a good team chemistry will help keep the Tigers competitive.

“It is like we have come into every other game, we have our music playing getting loud and we are getting loud on the bus rides home,” said Carusone. “It is staying together as a team.”