Through strong winds and cool weather, the Blue Devils defeated Newark Eastside 2-1 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the State Tournament thanks to two goals from senior captain Alex Rokhsar. Coming off a tough loss to their rival, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, the team had something to prove during the high-stakes match to continue their run in the state tournament.
Head coach Eric Shaw said Rokhsar’s early first goal was critical for the Blue Devils’ confidence. Shaw said, “That goal gave us a little bit of a breather and confidence through the first half, and it was a tough first half playing against the wind.” Lucas Grygiel had the assist on Rokhsar’s first goal. Rokhsar said, “That first goal was everything.” The first goal gave the Blue Devils a quick lead only minutes into the first half.
Rokhsar’s second goal was critical for the win and was assisted by senior Joaquin Wilkes. Even with these two goals secured, Rokhsar said, “We could have easily scored a couple more and executed better.” The Blue Devils played hard offensively and had many opportunities to score despite the low scoring end result. Rokhsar said that the competition will improve as they advance in the state tournament, so adjustments will need to be made.
With six minutes left in the game, however, Newark Eastside scored after hitting the post. Shaw said, “I am disappointed with giving one up when we were up 2-0 for a majority of the game.”
Senior defender Will Crozier recalled the defensive decline toward the end of the game. Crozier said, “We had a lot of trouble clearing the ball out of the box and we really need to work on that for our future games. If we can’t do that, goals will be given up constantly.”
Although the team worked hard and secured the win, everyone understood there is room for improvement, Rokhsar said, “The team failing to make so many goals when given the opportunity and letting that goal in is not really gonna slide against better teams as we advance in the state tournament.”
The team will play Phillipsburg on Friday at 1 p.m. at home. Phillipsburg is No. 11, while Westfield is No. 3. The teams have not played each other yet this season. Rokhsar said, “We have got to be bright, sharp and execute,” to win and continue in the state tournament.
