Trailing 4-2 as the second quarter unfolded, the Blue Devils found themselves in an uncertain position, in a game they initially deemed winnable. Determined to shift the momentum, they orchestrated their plays with precision. The ball circulated swiftly among the Westfield players, each searching for a gap in the defense. With a decisive pass finding its way to junior Colin Coyle at the 15-yard line, followed by a seamless transfer to junior Garrett Ferguson, anticipation filled the air. In a heartbeat, Ferguson capitalized on the opportunity, executing a lightning-fast shot that completed his hat trick, and propelling Westfield into their 13-4 Senior Day win over their rivals, Scotch-Plains Fanwood.
Although victorious, the Blue Devils started off in the wrong state of mind. “We started off a little cocky,” said senior captain Michael Marshall. “We made this game our Senior Day, so it gave too many kids the mindset that this was going to be a free win.” This was shown in the first quarter of the game when SPF scored the first goal of the quarter with about five minutes left. With the Blue Devils coming into the game “flat,” according to Marshall, this allowed SPF to gain momentum to eventually score another two goals, leaving them up 0-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter, things began to shift. For WHS, after beating highly ranked teams in the state such as Seton Hall Prep and Delbarton, it can be easy to forget the simplistic skills of one’s sport and to slow down the play of the game. “We switched the defense from man to zone and we weren’t doing simple things like picking up first time ground balls. We went back to the basics and it worked.” Said head coach William Wertheimer. Furgeson then changed the dynamic of the game by scoring Westfields first 3 goals, leaving the Blue Devils outscoring the Raiders 3-1 in the quarter.
Ferguson still wasn’t finished and came back a minute into the third quarter to tie up the game. This was a pivotal time in the game for Westfield, either they could continue this momentum and win this rivalry game or they could let the easy anticipation get to them. Westfield chose to win. Coyle broke the tie with 7:10 left in the quarter. Westfield had no signs of slowing down and had another four goals this quarter leaving the score 9-4 going into the last quarter of the game.
Within seconds the team scored two back to back goals, one from junior Luke Angelo and the other from Coyle which became his hat trick goal. In this game, Furgeson and Coyle were the duo to beat as they scored the majority of the goals for the Blue Devils. Although the win is important for the Blue Devils as they advance in their season, the main part to focus on was the lessons learned from the slow start to this game. Marshall said, “We just have to learn to come into these kinds of games not overconfident, not cocky, but humble and hungry.”
The boys are set to play Chatham at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, a “very well coached team and it’s going to be tough,” said Wertheimer. Westfield won against them 13-3 last season “and they’re going to be hungry so we just have to bring more energy than they do,”said Marshall.
