With multiple points from Sophomore Kate Cymbor and senior co-captain Gilli Cohen scoring her 200th point, the girls lacrosse team’s 16-5 win against Shawnee was exactly the boost they needed after their most recent tough loss to Rumson-Fair Haven.
The Blue Devils started out strong with five points in the first quarter alone, holding Shawnee to zero. Cymbor scored three of those points and continued to contribute to the team’s success, totaling six points. She believed it was a great collective effort and the team played well. “It was a really good team win today. We were setting good picks and the cuts were working,” Cymbor said.
Cohen has been key for the Blue Devils all four years of her varsity career, and this game showed exactly why. Cohen is primarily a forward, but yesterday was forced to play in the midfield and stepped up in big ways for Westfield. Her five goals not only sealed the Blue Devils’ victory but also helped her shatter her 200-point career milestone. Despite her impressive individual performance and tremendous achievement, Cohen still attributed the success against Shawnee to a collaborative team effort. Cohen said, “We had a lot of assisted goals today, and on defense, we all helped each other out, so I think it was just a team win in general”.
Despite Cymbor and Cohen’s powerful performance, those two weren’t the only ones who played a key role in the win. Sophomore Lorelei McGorty had a hat trick, and sophomore Eloise Murphy and freshman Carolina Corcoran both scored a point. It was clear the offense was game-ready and maintained their focus and intensity throughout the game, and the defense was right beside them. Westfield’s defense was strong with multiple checks and stops to long runs, forcing Shawnee turnovers on numerous occasions.
Instead of the Blue Devils putting their heads down after their most recent loss on Saturday, they came out with something to prove against Shawnee. Head coach Katie DaSilva credited this massive rebound game to the team’s mentality. DaSilva said, “We have the capability. It wasn’t working on Saturday; we couldn’t break out of that mental rut. I mean, today, we got a little close and we lost the second quarter. But we talked about it at halftime, and we just blew them away in the third quarter.”
The Blue Devils look to use this decisive win as motivation as they continue their season. This Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., Westfield will face off against Kent Place at Kehler.
