As the first quarter clock ticked down, Westfield led 7-0 against Hunterdon Central, continuing their dominance in the State Tournament after they goosed West Orange 22-0 on May 27. But the cherry on top of the first quarter came from sophomore Cooper Rosen’s explosive buzzer beater to seal off the first 8-0. From there, the Blue Devils didn’t look back and cruised to an 18-1 victory, securing their next game and continuing their run in the State Tournament.
Heading into this game, head coach William Wetheimer said Hunterdon Central was a “strong program,” so the Blue Devils would need to come out with energy. As the 2-seed in the state tournament, the team has already shown it is capable of dominating any opponent. “We can’t take them lightly, and we just have to come out, execute quarter by quarter and continue from there,” he said. They did just that. By halftime, the score was 15-1, and then, the scoring slowed down.
Having that fast start translated to success on both sides of the ball, and Wertheimer credited the team transition, offensive movement and defensive effort as factors in the win.
Junior tri-captain and Cornell Lacrosse commit Koby Waldman had a great game with two goals and four assists. He explained how their mission was to extend the seasons and keep playing together. “We’re just trying to keep fighting for another week with the guys. Playing for the seniors and trying to stay together.” At the end of the game, the Hunterdon Central seniors took their final lap around the field, and the Westfield players saw just what they were playing to avoid.
Waldman believes that their challenging regular-season schedule prepared them for postseason competition. “Playing not the top caliber teams in the state kind of helped us because we’ve been playing them all year.” He also attributed the Blue Devils’ movement and unselfish playmaking to their success.
Sophomore Brody Ferguson, who had three goals and one assist, echoed how ball movement played a key role in Westfield’s victory. “I think ball movement through their zone [worked well for us]. We were really able to open it up and score a lot of goals,” he said.
Looking ahead, the Blue Devils are gearing up to play Bridgewater-Raritan on Thursday, time TBD, at home, and hope to continue to fly by their opponents and reach the championship as the reigning state champions for the last two years. Waldman said, “The next team isn’t going to play zone, so we’ll have to start working on our man plays, but just keep going.”
