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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: |
PDS Boys' Soccer Gets in Rhythm, Tops Newark to Make Prep B Semis
By Bill Alden
Malcolm Murphy had the sense that his Princeton Day School boys' soccer team was poised to do some damage in the state Prep B tournament.
"We've played well," said PDS head coach Murphy, whose club went 2-1-2 in its last five regular season contests. "But we've given up some late goals and haven't gotten as many results as we should have."
The third-seeded Panthers earned a superb result last Thursday as they blanked sixth-seeded Newark Academy 2-0 in a Prep B quarterfinal match.
"That was probably our best game of the season," asserted Murphy, whose team improved to 6-6-4 with the victory.
"We were playing combinations and things really clicked. Everybody came up trumps; the entire team played well."
A key factor in the Panthers' excellent effort was the play of senior Asante Brooks, who contributed a goal and an assist.
"That kid is one of the best players I've seen in this conference," said Murphy, who also got a goal from Antoine Hoppenot in the win. "He is a class act; he has superb touch on the ball."
PDS' late surge has been ignited by the emergence of Jonathan Zindman as a scoring threat. "Early in the season, Jonathan was missing his opportunities; I think he was failing on about 60-70 percent of his chances," said Murphy of his junior striker who has a team-high 11 goals.
"We recognized that he needed some extra work. We came up with four or five drills and that's really helped him. His work rate was excellent against Newark."
Logan Laughlin's work in the goal has helped anchor the PDS defense. "I think Logan was a little complacent earlier in the season," acknowledged Murphy. “We had a chat and he's been more competitive. He's been really good in our last three or four games."
Murphy knows that PDS is going to have to be really good to beat second-seeded Montclair Kimberley in the Prep B semifinal this Wednesday.
"It's going to be a tough, hard game," said Murphy. "I'm hoping for the best. On the day it will come down to who makes the best use of the ball and whose goalie comes up the biggest."
Murphy, a native of soccer-mad England, has relished the brand of soccer he has seen at the Prep B level this fall.
"I'm really impressed with the quality of the teams in our conference," said Murphy. "The speed of play and the commitment of the players have really improved. You have players that are determined to play at the next level."
If PDS can take its game to the next level, it will find itself playing for a championship.
