After a long-fought 40 minutes, Princeton’s goal just two minutes into the second half gave them the momentum to pull away. The Blue Devils maintained a strong defensive line, keeping the game competitive despite falling to a 2-0 loss.
On Saturday, Westfield boys soccer faced off against Princeton at home in an out-of-conference game. Heading into the match, the Blue Devils shifted their formation in preparation for Princeton’s strong offensive line. Starting in his first game back, senior Nathan Young said, “I thought the three center backs worked well, allowing us to have an extra person in the offensive line.”
Despite having an extra man up top, the Blue Devils struggled to get shots off and produce offensive threats. Senior co-captain Reean Dias said, “We’re never gonna score if we just have one attacker going for the ball; we need to be able to keep the ball better in the back and in the middle to become dangerous in the final third.”
In the Blue Devils’ first seven games, only eight goals have been recorded, while they have conceded five. The lack of energy leading into the second halves has increased the number of goals against them. Dias also added that the “lack of communication” on the field did not help them move the ball efficiently.
Even with a rather weak offensive performance from the Blue Devils, head coach Eric Shaw said, “I thought we had some good moments in the midfield combining and connecting. Heading into our next game, we need to create some chances in the final third, and be more risk-takers since we don’t have many goals on the season.”
The Blue Devils focused their attention on shutting down number 10, Harvey Smith, a Princeton University commit. Despite their efforts, Smith scored both goals for the Tigers.
Twenty-two minutes after Princeton got on the scoreboard, the Blue Devils received a controversial penalty that resulted in a 2-0 lead.
“I think what really hurt us was an early goal after halftime,” Shaw said. “We kind of never rebounded from that moment or competed after. Princeton’s good offensive side made it a hard day for us.”
With the Blue Devils’ loss to Princeton, they moved to 3-3-1 on the season, after previous losses to Scotch Plains-Fanwood, South Plainfield and Princeton.
However, the Blue Devils look to bounce back into the win column at Hunterdon Central on Tuesday at 5:30 pm.
