Deana Hu has one thing no other player on the West Windsor-Plainsboro South girls soccer team has. Sure it came in a different sport, softball, but the junior has played in big postseason games when she was part of the United squad that reached a sectional semifinal last spring. Now the girls soccer program gets its first chance in well over a decade to play in a truly big game. “Everyone is just super pumped to play,” Hu said, when asked to relate that experience from softball to soccer. “It was kind of a similar situation because we had a lot of seniors in softball and we have a lot of seniors here, too. We’re just trying to make the best out of every opportunity we have.” This opportunity comes against the CVC’s biggest Dawg (pun intended) when fifth-seeded South (9-3-2) gets a shot at top-seeded Hopewell Valley (14-2-2) on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the second of two semifinals at Ackerson Field. “We just approach with the same mentality that we have been,” Hu said. “We’ve been the underdog for the last two years, so we just try to go in there and play our game and not let them kind of push us off our game.” The Pirates are in the midst of their best season since a 13-win campaign in 2010. Their nine victories are already as many as the last three seasons combined and they captured the outright CVC Valley Division championship. Key returners like Hu and her center back partner Meadow Boateng and forward Maya Montemayor were joined by a trio of freshmen — Riley Duguay, Kate Grecsek and Anna Hefele — who have lifted the level of the team. Duguay and Montemayor are one of the most prolific duos in the CVC with a combined 32 goals. Duguay leads the CVC with 17 goals and Montemayor has 15 after scoring twice in the quarterfinal victory over Ewing. (The golden boot race is tighter than its ever been with Duguay holding a one-goal edge on Hopewell’s Elizabeth Buchert, Lawrence’s Michaela Little, Nottingham’s Bridget Cutty and Trenton’s Gabriella Smith). “We had a quad scrimmage in the beginning of our season and we won all three games, and from then on me and the coaches and returning players all knew this year was going to be special,” Hu said. “It really has been.” For it to get better, the Pirates are going to have to pull off a monumental upset. Hopewell Valley is in absolutely blistering form and coming off 4-0 destruction of Steinert in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs are on a 15-game unbeaten run (13-0-2) and haven’t lost since Sept. 9. “We have been practicing working together and not playing as individuals,” said Buchert after her hat trick against Steinert brought her season total to 16 goals. “We’re all friends and are playing together as a team.” All three of South’s losses have come against CVC Colonial opponents, but it’s been competitive in all those games. The Pirates got draws against Robbinsville and Steinert and lost to Lawrence (2-1), Notre Dame (3-1) and Allentown (4-3 in double OT). “They can do anything they set their mind to,” South coach Elisa Mastroianni said. “As long as we support each other and do what we do at practice we’ll always be able to have chances. Whether we can finish them that’s what is most important. “My first year of coaching here, we didn’t even make the MCT. So to be here in the semifinals is awesome as it is.” Allentown’s Martha Olorunnisola, right, moves with the ball as Lawrence’s Emma Skinner, left, defends during a CVC Tournament girls soccer quarterfinal game on Monday afternoon in Allentown. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown, Notre Dame renew rivalry Martha Olorunnisola knows exactly what to expect from an Allentown-Notre Dame match. The third-seeded Redbirds (11-5-1) and second-seeded Irish (12-4-1) renew hostilities in Wednesday’s first semifinal at 5 p.m. “They are definitely our biggest rivals,” the Allentown senior said. “There’s going to be a lot of physical-ness, a lot of fouls, but I think it’s going to be a good game to watch.” Olorunnisola took a starring role in the Redbirds’ 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Lawrence with a pair of goals. That included a stunning strike 13 minutes into the second half that gave Allentown a 2-1 lead after the Cardinals had equalized in the final minute of the first half. “It’s back!” Olorunnisola exclaimed of her goal-scoring form after she reached a career-best 10 tallies. What brought it back? “Confidence,” she said. “Once I understood that all I needed to do is shoot and get it in the net then I realized that’s what I’m supposed to do.” Olorunnisola was more a complimentary player her first three seasons, often deployed out wide as a winger where she can use her pace to go past defenders and create havoc in the box. But with the Redbirds graduating so many talented players and having to battle through a host of injures, she has more of a starring role. Coach Kim Maurer has played her both out wide and through the middle this fall. Where she was an X-factor last season, this year she’s the center of attention for opposing coaches. “We rely on her to put the ball in the back of the net,” Maurer said. “I think Amanda (Hoglund) has taken over the X-factor role, but Martha’s the go-to. Those two playing up top together are pretty good.” While Allentown comes into this semifinal as winners of five in a row, Notre Dame is on an even bigger tear. Coach Lauren Diaz’s side has ripped off 12 straight victories since a 1-4-1 start and tore apart Princeton Day in the second half of a 4-1 quarterfinal victory. The Irish haven’t lost since a 2-1 setback against Allentown on Sept. 19. The Redbirds have won four of the last five meetings, including a MCT semifinal last season. Senior forward Reagan O’Mara is up to 13 goals and has recorded a point in at least five straight games. One of the keys to ND’s winning run was moving Ashton Robbins from center back to midfielder. The junior gives the Irish more mobility in the midfield and can push the ball forward from the No. 6 position. “An Allentown-Notre game is a battle,” Maurer said. “Every time we do play them it is. They are a very good team. It’s going to be a good one.”