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Vol. LXI, No. 44
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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Vol. LXI, No. 44
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
caption: STORMIN’ NORMAN: Hun School boys’ soccer star Stephen Norman, left, battles for possession in recent action. After losing to Princeton High last Wednesday in the Mercer County Tournament semis, Norman and the Raiders will look to rebound when they host Lawrenceville on October 31 in the state Prep A semis. The second-seeded Raiders bring a 13-4 record into their clash with No. 3 Lawrenceville. The winner will advance to the title game on November 4, likely to face perennial champion St. Benedict’s. |
It had been a long, rainy night for the throng of student fans who turned up last Wednesday to support their Hun School boys’ soccer team as it faced undefeated Princeton High in the Mercer County Tournament semis.
The Hun contingent, which jammed one corner of the Mercer County Community College stadium, cheered lustily as their Raiders battled PHS to a 1-1 stalemate through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime.
They roared as the contest was decided by penalty kicks, trying to will the ball into the net for their players. In the end, however, PHS came through 4-2 to earn the win.
While they could have filed disconsolately out of the stadium after the heartbreaking conclusion to the riveting contest, the fans stayed and serenaded the disappointed Hun players with chants of “we still love you.”
As Hun head coach Chris Kingston reflected on the clash, he loved the effort he got from his side in defeat.
“It wasn’t as good quality as it would have been because of the rain but it was a pretty darn good game,” said Kingston, whose club had edged PHS 1-0 in the 2006 MCT semis on the way to the title.
“It was two really good teams and you weren’t going to get a much better game than that.”
There was an edge to the clash fueled by the schools’ proximity and the intensity of last year’s MCT meeting.
“It is a township rivalry; they were looking for revenge from last year,” said Kingston, whose club fell to 13-4 with the loss.
“The players know each other; some of them are on the same club teams. We have a couple of kids from Princeton; there was some jawing back and forth before the game.”
PHS head coach Wayne Sutcliffe knew that his team was in for a battle from its crosstown rival.
“They are such a quality side,” said Sutcliffe. “Chris is a great coach and he coaches the game in the right way. You can see that from this year and last year and all the years he has been there.”
Hun showed its quality as it rebounded from the PHS goal which came off a Kyle DeBlois header with 23:59 remaining in regulation.
Just seconds after the DeBlois score, Hun seized possession and started a breakaway down the field. Hun senior star Matt Florio knotted the contest at 1-1 as he blasted a shot into the net with 23:22 left in the second half.
“It was a great goal,” recalled Kingston. “It was a great ball from Steve Norman, it was right in stride and Matt just buried it. That was really good stuff.”
Kingston rued his team’s inability to cash in some other good scoring opportunities.
“The one time that Jelani [Rooks] got behind them, he tried to shoot but if he just slides it across the goal mouth, Steve Norman was waiting there,” said Kingston.
“Right at the end of the first overtime, Steve was in on the goalkeeper and he tripped over the ball.”
With second-seeded Hun hosting No. 3 Lawrenceville in the state Prep A semifinals on October 31, Kingston hopes his team won’t trip again.
“We have some time to refocus; if you call yourself a competitor, you are going to rebound,” asserted a steely-eyed Kingston, whose team edged Lawrenceville 2-1 in the teams’ regular season meeting earlier this month.
“Lawrenceville is talking some smack; they said after the first game that they felt they dominated the game. They are a very good team. That’s a huge game; a rivalry game.”
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