Unlikely hero steps up for WW-P South
PRINCETON JCT. » Dan Kelly and the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South boys soccer team spent the majority of their time at Monday’s practice working on scoring in preparation for their Tuesday showdown with Hopewell Valley.
Yet, the furthest thing from Kelly’s mind was knocking in a goal.
That is understandable, considering Kelly is a reserve defender for head coach Bryan Fisher’s team.
So when the senior got the call to enter the contest he seemed a little surprised.
It was not nearly as surprised as Kelly turned out to be when he pushed forward and ended up scoring the winning goal, his first on the varsity level, as the Pirates slipped past the Bulldogs, 2-1.
“This is kind of surreal for me,” Kelly said. “I’ve never come up to score before. In fact, that was only my second time in the opposing box this season.”
Considering the fine finish Kelly provided, along with standup defensive pressure, the senior back may now find himself with more chances.
WW-P South (4-2) and Hopewell (3-2-1) were locked in a 1-1 tie with regulation time winding down as annoying rain bands from the distant Tropical Storm Jose dampened play.
Then, with 14:30 to play, Steven Ocampo was awarded a free kick for the home team just over 20 yards from net. Ocampo ripped a ball on net, which was turned away by Bulldogs senior goalkeeper Domenic Zangrilli. But Luke Hansen crashed the middle to kick the rebound back at goal, forcing Zangrilli to make another save.
Kelly, who had pushed up on the stoppage of play, saw the rebound go high toward him, so he headed it back on goal, only to have his shot bang off the crossbar.
Before Zangrilli could re-position himself, Kelly found the ball back at his feet. He had the presence of mind to send a left-footed shot back across the goal mouth into the empty side of the net for the eventual game-winner.
“At first, I hit the cross with a head ball, then it came back to me and I just kicked it toward the empty side of the net,” Kelly said.
It was an impressive flurry, all of which took about five seconds, even from the standpoint of the disappointed goalkeeper.
“No, you don’t see many teams do that,” Zangrilli said. “I was just trying to get a hand on the initial shot, then I had a deflection. Then they hit the crossbar before shooting it the other way.
“The weather made things interesting today. We didn’t communicate as well as we normally do, so we’ve got to get back to practice to work on that.”
Head coach Ed Gola’s team had done a good job to fight through the elements and even the score after dominating early, only to see the Pirates grab the lead when Ramesses Moore McGuinness knocked in a pass from Luke Hansen in the 15th minute.
When WW-P South could not extend its lead, Hopewell Valley erased the advantage when Ryan Pfau out-raced three defenders to win a long lead from Owen Burnett, which he shot past Pirates senior goalkeeper Jonathan Tecum Chavez with 6:44 left in the half.
The game remained tied for the next 22 minutes until Kelly surprised himself, and possibly some others, with his first tally.
“We basically spent our whole practice Monday just shooting,” Kelly said. “We knew they were a tough opponent, so we needed to be just as tough. I thought we did that. In the end, I guess it takes a defender to come up and knock one in to win a game like this.”
Hopewell Val. (3-2-1) WW-P South (4-2) Goals —
Pfau (HV), RMoore McGuinness, Kelly (WWS). OBurnett (HV), Hansen
Assists —
(WWS).
1 0—1 1 1—2