TAKE THE CHALLENGE: Princeton High football player Nick Matese jumps over an enemy to recover the ball during 2022 action. Defender Sense Matese will spearhead the PHS back line this fall. The Tigers, who will be guided by new head coach Ryan Walsh following the resignation of Wayne Sutcliffe after a legendary 26-year tenure, begin their 2023 season by hosting Allentown on September 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
As Wayne Sutcliffe stepped down as coach of the Princeton High boys soccer team this spring to end a 26-year tenure that included two state titles, it will be the start of a new era for program this fall.
But as longtime assistant coach Ryan Walsh takes over from his boss, he promises things will be much the same within the team.
“The big question everyone has asked me is what’s different; If someone asks that of anyone else in the program, I hope their answer isn’t much,” said Walsh, a former Rider University men’s soccer star who served eight seasons under Sutcliffe. “He was so successful. I try to take a lot of what he did. He is always balanced. I want to keep the same cool head as him. It’s a similar training style, hopefully not much will change.
Although Walsh, who teaches math at PHS, admits he has a lot of challenges ahead of him, he’s up for the challenge.
“There’s definitely a little pressure, Wayne and I always wanted to win,” said Walsh, who helped the Tigers go 8-8-1 last fall. “I’m super competitive. So no matter where I got my first coaching job, I was going to feel some pressure because I want to win so bad. I will always feel this way.
Walsh was exposed to a winning approach during his college career playing for legendary coach Charlie Inverso at Rider.
“It was a great experience because when I first signed up for Rider, it was Charlie’s first year,” said Walsh, a 2015 Rider alum. “He was taking over a program that wasn’t so great, they had a lot of tough years. We were his first class. During my four years, I have seen the exponential growth of this program. My senior year we were so good and right after I graduated they ended up winning three MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) championships.
That experience put Walsh on the coaching path. “It really helped me become a leader because we were Charlie’s guys and he really counted on us to be a leader,” said Walsh, the senior team captain who had six goals and one assist. decisive performance in his 69-game career as a striker/midfielder. “My first year, I was kind of fitting in, but by the second year, I was moving into more of a leadership role. That kind of led me to a coaching career.
Having been exposed to PHS during his senior year at Rider, Walsh earned his first official coaching position with the Tiger boys program.
“I actually taught my students at Princeton High in the spring of my senior year,” Walsh said. “I did some volunteer coaching at Rider, we would go to Lawrence and work with some elementary school kids there. My first official coaching job was at PHS for Wayne.
Working under Sutcliffe helped Walsh learn the ins and outs of coaching.
“I’ve learned so much about coaching in those eight years. Going from player to coach is a big step,” Walsh said. “I didn’t realize what a big step forward it was. As a coach, there is a lot of managing players and their emotions. As a player, you don’t really see that side. That was the biggest challenge: trying to manage teenagers’ emotions. High school football is tough because kids come from school all day and sometimes they can’t leave that behind when they practice.
One of the key lessons Walsh has learned from Sutcliffe’s approach is the importance of developing connections with players.
“Besides my football knowledge, he really taught me how to deal with people and kids,” Walsh said. “He was really good at communicating with the players. He spent a lot of time before and after practice getting to know the guys on a more personal level.
As Walsh took the helm this summer in pre-season, he admits he misses Sutcliffe in his side.
“At the end of his coaching career, he and I worked closely together, it was almost like we were co-head coaches,” Walsh said. “I feel really ready. It’s sad because I got to know Wayne so well. These last few weeks without him have been strange.
Although Sutcliffe’s departure left a void, PHS players responded well to Walsh.
“It’s been really great; we have a pretty veteran team, we have a lot of guys returning from last year,” said Walsh, whose team begins the 2023 season by hosting Allentown on September 7. “They are excited. They were disappointed with the way our season ended last year. We had a few injuries that hurt us last year. They arrived really excited. In the spring and summer, the guys were in the weight room. There was a lot of training this summer.
PHS has some good forwards in junior Brian Donis (6 goals, 2 assists in 2022), junior Azariah Breitman (3 goals), senior Pasquale Carusone and junior Ben Gitai (2 goals).
“Brian had a great year last season, Breitman is good,” Walsh said. “We have another striker who wasn’t in the team last year, in Pasquale. He plays club, he hasn’t played for PHS in the last three years. He came out this year to play for PHS his senior year. These three will be our main attackers. Ben played a few minutes for us last year, he had a great second season.
In the midfield, the Tigers will feature senior Felipe Matar Grandi (3 goals, 6 assists), junior Archie Smith (1 assist), senior Brandon Urias (1 assist), senior Matt Kim and sophomore freshman Harvey Smith.
“Felipe plays in the middle, Archie started last year and had a great sophomore year,” Walsh said. “He came back really fit and ready to go. Brandon and Matt will also be in the middle. Archie has a younger brother, Harvey, who will also pay for us.
Senior Nick Matese (3 goals), senior Jamie Reynolds (5 goals, 2 assists), senior Patrick Kenah (1 goals, 2 assists) and junior Connor Hewitt (1 assist) will lead the Tigers’ backline .
“Nick will play in central defense for us; he’s phenomenal and will partner with Jamie,” Walsh said. “Jamie has moved to center back this year. Patrick played away last year. He had a really good second half of the season last year, so we’re really excited to have him back. Connor is also back there at the moment.
At goalie, junior Nicolas Holmelund is ready to build on a strong freshman campaign.
“Holmelund looks strong, he’s been training hard all summer,” Walsh said. “It’s tough being a sophomore goalie; he’s a little older and a little stronger.
Benefiting from strength in numbers, PHS has the talent to maintain its winning tradition under Walsh.
“We have a lot of depth, we have a very quality roster from top to bottom,” Walsh said. “Using this depth is essential. The season is a chore, it’s three games a week. We can bring guys off the bench and the level will not drop because there are still quality players. I think it will help us eliminate some of the injuries we had late in the season last year. There is no substitute for experience, minutes played will make you better at the college level. All of these guys had a lot of minutes under their belt last year.
