As the clock ticked down in the final minutes of the game, senior co-captain Emilie Cadigan overcame several defensive efforts from the Oak Knoll Royals and was able to find senior Molly McDermott in front of the net who fired it past the goalkeeper to secure the 3-0 win for the Blue Devils.
After finishing their highly anticipated matchup against top nationally ranked Rutgers Prep on Friday with a 2-2 tie, the Blue Devils had plenty of confidence entering their game on Tuesday against the Royals, aware of the strong presence they hold in the UCC Conference.
Head coach Alex Schmidt said, “I think the biggest thing today was to try to maintain the standard that we’ve set for ourselves. It’s hard to do because it’s not Rutgers Prep we are playing, and the crowd isn’t what it was against them, so there’s obviously gonna be a little bit of a let-down so we tried to stay as motivated as we could.”
The Blue Devils came out in the first half with intensity allowing junior Mia Zbranak to put one past the Royals goalkeeper to make the score 1-0 for Westfield just 20 minutes in. Sophomore Gella Hollins had the assist on the goal bringing her season total to 12.
“We wanted to go into today’s game with the same energy and confidence that we have all season and not let the last game affect how we played today,” Zbranak said.
Following the goal, the game slowed down a bit with a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams. The Blue Devils had a few chances but were not able to capitalize on any, meanwhile the defense held strong and allowed no shots on junior goalkeeper Phoebe Klag.
As the scoreboard sounded for halftime, the Blue Devils held a 1-0 lead and re-strategized their approach to the game in response to the formation the Royals were using while maintaining their same level of energy and intensity.
McDermott said, “The biggest factor today was adjusting and getting used to the way they were playing. We typically like to play through the middle, and they kind of knew that, so they packed us in and kept us tight.”
With such a condensed midfield and most of the Blue Devils’ small passes through the middle being stopped or deflected, Westfield found success in playing the ball wide to the wings and then back to the middle, different from the style of play they normally use.
The Blue Devils came into the second half with enthusiasm and took many chances early on. Despite the Royals goalkeeper coming up with several saves, Westfield kept their pressure and continued to attack the net.
Just around mid-way through the second half, Hollins orchestrated her second assist of the night and set sophomore Zara Dobek up to rip one past the goalkeeper into the far-post of the goal to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead.
Not long after, McDermott scored her 12th of the season, putting the Blue Devils up 3-0. Cadigan’s assist brings her season total to 5 on top of her 13 goals.
The Westfield defense continued to create stops throughout the matchup and allowed for zero shots to be taken on goal the entire game. The team came away with their third shutout of the season, after looking for one in their past couple of matches.
Head coach Alex Schmidt said, “We haven’t had a shutout in a long time so to get one means a lot because the defense works so hard and they live for a shutout so we’re super excited for them.”
McDermott echoed similar thoughts and said, “Our defense works so hard, and sometimes there’s just one little mistake that kind of ruins the performance for them, but getting a win like this is big for them because they have been playing so well recently, and just getting that reward is great.”
This win moves the Blue Devils to 8-0-1 on the year and gives them even more momentum to take on the rest of their opponents in the regular season and heading into counties.
The Blue Devils are back in action on Thursday as they host Northern Highlands for a game at 4:30 p.m.
