HOW ABOUT THIS: Princeton High girls soccer player Holly Howes is all smiles after scoring PHS’ only goal in a 1-0 win over Hightstown last Thursday. The Tigers, who lost 2-1 to Haddonfield last Saturday to improve to 3-2, will host Lawrence High on September 21 before playing Princeton Day School on September 23 and Notre Dame on September 26. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Holly Howes had a number of runs on goal early on for the Princeton High girls soccer team as they hosted Hightstown last Thursday, but to no avail as the opponents were stuck in a scoreless stalemate.
Despite misses and a point-blank shot saved by the Rams keeper, Howes was undeterred.
“You could definitely see the momentum was in our direction,” senior forward and co-captain Howes said. “When you miss a game, you probably think you should have scored. The best thing you can do is forget about it and move on to the next room.
With 23:39 left in the first half, Howes didn’t miss a shot as he sent the ball into the back of the net to give PHS a 1-0 lead.
“Sometimes I feel like we’re a little confused and sometimes you just have to take a chance, take a chance,” Howes said. “What I do very well is maneuvers, so I play to my strengths and we scored.”
That goal proved to be a margin of victory as PHS defeated Hightstown 1-0.
The Tigers had chances early in the second half, but hit a lull when star midfielder Casey Serxner left the game with a leg injury.
“We started out wanting to achieve a different goal, things changed and we became more conservative,” Howes said.
“We just wanted to contain them and we wanted to get the win. There was a lot of emotional upheaval. The goal at that point was simply to win. We don’t need to win by a bunch of goals.
Playing with a sense of urgency this fall, Howes scored four early goals for the Tigers.
“It’s my last year here and I want to have a good season,” said Howes, who had an assist as the Tigers lost 2-1 to Haddonfield last Saturday to improve to 3-2. “I want to make an impact with this team. We will do our best to go as far as possible as a team.
Howes worked hard during the offseason to be at his best during his final campaign.
“We had captains practices this summer with a really strong turnout,” said Howes, whose younger sister, Kacey, is a second-year midfielder for the Tigers. “We were very committed to maintaining team chemistry and the practices this summer definitely helped the game flow.”
As a team captain alongside Alysse Kiesewetter, Brielle Moran and Serxner, Howes seeks to create a positive atmosphere.
“I’ve been through it all, I understand how every member of the team feels,” Howes said. “As captains, we try to create team chemistry on and off the field. We organize many team building activities to bring this to the field. We are very tight on this team.
PHS head coach Dave Kosa felt his team would face a close competition against the feisty Rams.
“We’re getting into it now, the girls knew that coming in,” Kosa said. “We knew Hightstown is always a strong team. Their record was 0-3 but they faced three very good teams.
The Tigers got going early against Hightstown. “We have to be ready, we attacked in the first half,” Kosa said. “Holly has one. I thought we had a few other good chances – their goalkeeper made some great saves.
Kosa wasn’t surprised to see Howes win the match.
“Holly always works hard in practice to finish,” Kosa said of Howes, the team’s leading scorer this fall with three assists and her four goals. “Last year it was her and Alysse scoring goals for us. This year we have a lot more options. When she gets the ball, you can tell she has the confidence to go for goal. She shows it.
The Tigers’ backline has played with confidence this season, led by freshman goalkeeper Julia Zaldarriaga as well as veteran defenders Kiesewetter, Ava Tabeart and Romy Johnson.
“It was a great defensive effort to have Julia in goal even though she’s a freshman. She plays beyond her age; she’s really smart out there,” Kosa said. “I’m really into confidence with our defensive group. Alysse and has been there for three years at left back. Ava has always been talented, she is a sweeper. Romy was last year’s sweeper and now she is our goalscorer. We have the speed there, we have communication there, so hopefully we can continue to build on that.
As PHS hosts Lawrence High on September 21 before playing Princeton Day School on September 23 and Notre Dame on September 26, Kosa looks for his team to continue building.
“It’s early, it’s just about continuing to work hard and continuing to understand how to play together to win these games,” Kosa said. “We started with Allentown (1-0 loss on September 7) and it was very close, it could have gone either way. It was another test. We have good opponents coming, next week is going to be very difficult too. We’re ready, we just have to keep playing.
Howes believes the Tigers will continue to play well. “You can’t think about the past,” Howes said. “You have to take each match as it is. We must exploit our strengths and continue to move forward.
