TITLE CHASE: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Chase Hamerschlag boots the ball last Friday as PHS hosted Monroe in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional final. Junior center back Hamerschlag scored a goal on a header to give third-seeded PHS a 1-0 win over fifth seeded Monroe. The Tigers, who improved to 18-2-4, were slated to play at Southern (17-5-1) on November 19 in the Group 4 semis with the victor advancing to the state final on November 24. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament final on October 26, Chase Hamerschlag headed in a goal off a pass from Aaron Thyrum on a corner kick in the second half to give the Princeton High boys’ soccer team a 1-0 win over
Notre Dame.

History repeated itself last Friday as third-seeded PHS hosted fifth-seeded Monroe in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional final. With the teams knotted in a scoreless tie in the second half, junior center back Hamerschlag soared above a Falcon defender to head in a pass from Thyrum on a set piece to give PHS a 1-0 victory.

The Tigers, who improved to 18-2-4 in winning their second straight sectional title as they go for a state title repeat, were slated to play at Southern (17-5-1) on November 19 in the Group 4 semis with the victor advancing to the state final on November 24.

In reflecting on the goal, Hamerschlag found himself in the right place at the right time.

“I am the guy they are looking for on the back post, I have been there all season,” said a grinning Hamerschlag. “We tried something new and it worked. I saw the ball soaring in the air, it went over the last defender’s head and I was just right there to put it away. I knew it was going in.”

In the first half, the Tigers had to hold the fort as the Falcons put pressure in the PHS defense.

“They have a lot of talented players just as we do, we were working back and forth against them,” said Hamerschlag. “We were moving it up and down the field, no matter if we were attacking or they were attacking. We just all had to focus in and keep them from putting the ball in the back of the net.”

While the foes were knotted in a scoreless stalemate at halftime, Hamerschlag was confident that the Tigers would break through with a goal in the second half.

“We had a lot of chances at goal in the first half, we knew that one of those chances was going to put in the back of the net,” said Hamerschlag. “We just planned on doing the same thing, working it up the field, working it to our middle guys with our outside guys crossing it in. Doing that, we knew we were going to put one in the back of the net.”

After PHS found the back of the net, it was able to stifle a late charge by Monroe as it generated several corner kicks in the final minutes of regulation.

“They were down 2-0 to Hunterdon Central (in the sectional semi) and they came back right away and  put one in the goal to end it,” said Hamerschlag. “Of course we were nervous but I think that we shut them down pretty well.”

Having moved to defense after playing at forward last year, Hamerschlag has helped shore up the Tiger back line.

“From the first time that we have played to now, there has been much growth,” said Hamerschlag. “I like the transition from striker to center back; I get to take free kicks and score on headers.”

In winning their second straight sectional crown, the Tigers have grown into a force.

“That is huge, back-to-back, the year prior, we were .500,” said Hamerschlag. “Last year we came back and won sections and the state final and we are hoping to do the same
thing here.”

PHS head coach Ryan Walsh knew his team faced a huge challenge in trying to overcome Monroe.

“They had the wind with them, we knew we had to survive the first half,” said Walsh. “They came out and played hard. They are a pretty tenacious team, they press really hard. With the wind and tenacity, our job was just get out of the half 0-0 and flip the script with the wind.”

Walsh was not surprised to see Hamerschlag break through with the winning tally.

I thought in the second half, we had a lot of chances and we were starting to get a little dangerous with Archie [Smith], Azariah [Breitman], and Aaron and finally that set piece got us through,” said Walsh. “Chase is such an asset, he has been great at center back for us. He cleans up a lot, he is super athletic, covering a lot of ground. Then when we have a set piece in attacking third, he is just a handful to handle. He has scored a couple of game winners
for us here.”

The Tiger defense came up big in handling the dangerous Falcons and their corner kicks.

“We work a lot on that in practice, we trust Nick [Holmelund] our goalie,” said Walsh. “Chase and Connor [Hewitt] are the ones that handle those defensive set pieces along with our whole back four. Monroe had a couple of really dangerous players, the 10 shirt and the 30 shirt. I thought we handled that really well.”

While PHS lost a number of key performers from its 2023 state champion squad, this year’s group is displaying a comparable postseason pedigree.

“It has been great, this team is so different from last year,” said Walsh. “There is great leadership and togetherness on this team, that is a similar feel from last year. All of these guys just want to win so bad you can tell. They do all of the dirty work to win games 1-0, 2-1.
That is what it takes to win a
tournament.”

Looking ahead to the Group semis, Walsh believes the Tigers are peaking.

“We are definitely playing pretty well,” said Walsh. “I think in our last 10, 11 games, ever since that Steinert loss (2-0 on October 8), we have just kind of flipped a switch. We got real focused to turn the season around.”

In Hamerschlag’s view, that focus has PHS on track for another state crown.

“We have known the whole season that we were going to be the ones to go back-to-back,” said Hamerschlag. “We just keep going. It seems like every game we keep getting better and better and improving on the little things. That is all we can ask for.”