Leggett’s brace lifts PDS over WW-PN
PLAINSBORO » As tightly as West Windsor-Plainsboro High North senior fullback Ndzalama Baloyi was marking Princeton Day School junior forward Wesley Leggett throughout their first-round Mercer County Tournament boys soccer match Thursday, Leggett not only figured he would get some calls, he believed he would earn a penalty kick sooner or later.
So when Leggett was given that call with 6:22 left in the second 10 minutes of overtime, he was not surprised.
When Northern Knights junior goalkeeper Brendan Kerins came up with a save on his penalty kick, Leggett was caught a little off guard, but not enough to keep him from following the shot and kicking the rebound into the net to give the ninth-seeded Panthers a 2-1 win over WW-P North.
The win sends head coach Oliver Hilliker’s 10-5 team on to second-round action at 10 a.m. Saturday at top-seeded Hopewell Valley (14-3-1) after the Bulldogs defeated 17thseeded Hamilton, 3-0, Thursday.
“To have every ball sent to me heavily contested like that was a challenge,” Leggett said of Baloyi’s defense. “I knew I had to be patient. On that one at the end, I was kind of expecting a p.k. to be called. I always try to expect that.”
It was the mindset Leggett needed to have considering he and Baloyi had been locking arms like dance partners for about 10 yards before the foul was called in the box.
“We got unlucky at the end,” Northern Knights senior cocaptain Vedav Varadarajan said. “Ndzalama was on him all game. Still, I thought we created a lot of chances. We just couldn’t connect.”
The home team did a good job to keep the game within striking distance after Leggett put the visitors on the board midway through the first half by connecting on a pass from senior James Henderson.
After a spirited halftime speech from head coach Trevor Warner, eighth-seeded WW-P North came out on a mission in the second half and pressured the PDS net more frequently.
The drives paid off with 23:46 left in the second half when Varadarajan beat Panthers senior goalkeeper Manas Sood to a ball sent into the box by sophomore Mark Chiriac. Varadarajan chipped a shot toward the vacant net, which junior back Coby Auslander appeared to clear away, only to have the referee overrule and award the tying tally.
The game stayed that way into overtime, but not before Leggett escaped Baloyi just long enough with 4:49 left in regulation to slide for a midfield serve from Sood, which he kicked past Kerins and off the far post.
“As the season’s gone on, I’ve been more heavily defended,” said Leggett, who has 20 goals this season. “I like having that. It prepares me to work harder.”
The one thing Leggett was not prepared for was Kerins’ diving stop on his penalty kick. But, like the good goal scorer he is, Leggett stayed after it until he finished his mission.
“That’s the first time a ’keeper has anticipated my shot like that,” Leggett said. “But the ball came right back to me.”
The junior striker did not allow a penalty-kick shootout to get any closer as he put away the rebound to help the Panthers advance to Saturday’s second round.
PDS (10-5) WW-P North (7-6-3) Goals —
Leggett 2 (PDS), Varadarajan (WWN).
Assists —
(WWN).
6 (PDS), 11 (WWN).
Sood 5 (PDS), Kerins 9 (WWN).
Shots — Saves — 1001— 0 1 0 0 —
Henderson (PDS), MChiriac
2 1