With less than 15 minutes having passed since the opening whistle, senior Dan Desousa found junior Sam Judka for his 3rd goal of the game. To anybody watching, the victors of the game were already decided after witnessing Judka’s dominant performance right out of the gate. However, the Blue Devils never seemed to take their foot off the gas pedal, ending a 7-0 blowout performance over Governor Livingston.
After falling to Ridgewood 0-2 just a few days earlier, Westfield was seeking revenge and a chance to bounce back heading into Tuesday’s game. Wasting no time, Judka ignited himself on fire and found himself with a hat trick early in the first half. Judka said, “Last game was tough. I couldn’t find the back of the net. I didn’t put it on me but I knew I could do better. Today I was able to get off to an early jump and was able to continue my success throughout the first half.”
In addition to Judka’s phenomenal offensive play, senior Henry Iannuzzi joined in on the dominance when he was able to get a goal for himself, bringing Westfield to a lead of 4-0 going into halftime.
The second half of the match provided the Blue Devils with even more offensive opportunities. Senior Sam Zafra was able to connect on a header off a perfectly placed corner kick to score. Zafra said, “It’s just about seeing the ball in the air, envisioning yourself making contact with the ball, going out there and tracking it down, and putting your body on the line.”
With such a demanding lead, the entire Blue Devil bench got a chance to show off their skills. Senior Danny Gonzalez, who had hit the crossbar twice previously, was finally able to find the back of the net. He concluded the Blue Devils scoring frenzy with 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, making it 7-0.
Westfield’s defense, led by Captain Ethan Wade, was just as dominant as their offense. Goalkeepers Simeon Gunzberg and Danny Garcia both contributed to a shutout performance. Wade said, “We were faster with the ball, and when we were [on offense] we finished the chances that we got. We were just having fun.”
While some doubted the squad after their underwhelming performance against Ridgewood, it is clear after their success against GL, that they are not a team to let one game define them. Head coach Eric Shaw said, “In the end, today is a day where we need to be better than the last day.” With this mindset, the Blue Devils look to keep building on their performance and not be satisfied with one win.
The Blue Devils are back in action this Saturday vs. Monroe at 3:00 p.m. as they seek to continue their success.
