Westfield lacrosse opened their season away against Randolph on Tuesday Mar. 25, with a stand-out 11-6 win.
Within the span of seven minutes, Randolph caught on a hot streak and promptly put in four goals, completely turning the tide of the game. They shrunk a commanding six goal Westfield lead, to a small 8-6 deficit in an instant. The Rams stormed down the field on the following possession, however senior goalkeeper Corey Gilford crushed their momentum with a huge save that eased the Blue Devils’ nerves. This crucial save paused Randolph’s relentless attack, allowing the Blue Devils to feel themselves again and recapture their offensive momentum.
After a long bus ride, the Blue Devils were forced into a short warmup, which played part in the slow first quarter. Westfield maintained possession but struggled to bury their opportunities, ending the first quarter with Westfield trailing 0-1. Head coach William Wertheimer said, “We just had to get a quarter under us and we had to finish better. We had a lot of chances to put the ball in the back of the net and we just didn’t do it at first.”
The Blue Devils were clearly feeling themselves right off the first whistle of the second quarter. Senior Trinity College commit Billy Gerne began the stampede with Westfield’s first goal of the game, coming only 14 seconds into the quarter. Senior University of Massachusetts Amherst commit Colin Coyle followed up with another goal within the same minute. It only took the first minute of the second quarter for the Blue Devils to secure the lead. Westfield continued this momentum throughout the quarter, ending 6-1 with goals coming from returning seniors and sophomore Harrison Rekemeier. Coyle said, “We were able to move their goalkeeper to find better opportunities and just shot better so we were able to finish.”
Westfield held a distinctive lead at the end of the third quarter, then Randolph picked up some confidence and found a way to break down Westfield’s newly formed defense. However, the defense grounded themselves and kept the Rams scoreless for the rest of the game after this hot streak. Westfield’s offense would bury three more goals within the fourth quarter to finalize the game 11-6. Coyle said, “The defense was going to be a question this year after having to replace [Michael Marshall] but they played great today and showed that they could hold down the fort themselves.”
Being the only returning starting defensemen, senior captain and Muhlenberg College commit, Drew Pravlik said, “Even though we lost a few key players last year it doesn’t really matter, we always have strong guys coming in, whether they’re sophomores or juniors we can count on them to perform.” This strong defensive performance was promising for the Blue Devils.
Missing senior Sacred Heart University commit Christian Gilford due to an injury, the Blue Devils felt motivated to play for him during their opening game. Gerne, losing his main midfield partner, even after stepping up and scoring a hat-trick himself, said, “It definitely felt like something was missing today without him.” Coyle adding on said, “We played that one for him today, he’ll be back but in the meantime we have to stay focused”.
Wertheimer explained the team’s focus this season, although it is early on, they want to carry along the same mindset as last year’s state championship winning team. “We came out with a humble and hungry attitude last year, and I think we’re just trying to ride that train again,” said Wertheimer.
“It definitely wasn’t our best competition today, Thursday’s team will be much better so we will have to step up our game and we’re looking forward to that competition,” said Gerne. The Blue Devils will be playing next on Thursday Mar. 27, home at Gary Kehler Stadium against CBA at 4:30 p.m.
