A sea of black shirts erupted as the referee blew the starting whistle, the beginning of an arduous battle between the Westfield Blue Devils and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders on Nov. 1. The student sections of both bleachers were packed with fans, and with the rivals facing off, the energy surrounding ALJ’s stadium was electric.
Heading into the game, Westfield was hoping to avenge the last matchup between the Raiders and Blue Devils, where Westfield fell short by one goal. Both teams started off strong, with pressure from SPF’s offense being countered by Westfield’s solid defensive line. Possession was mostly equal, and although SPF had a couple more attacking opportunities, it seemed like the game would be balanced and rigorous.
Sixteen minutes into the first half, a free kick was awarded to the Raiders just outside of the 18-yard line. The cross into the box was converted by SPF, leaving the Blue Devils down 1-0 early on.
Despite being down, Westfield returned to play with even more determination. A number of attacking chances, including senior co-captain Sam Judka’s riveting 1v1 with the SPF keeper that hit off the post, had everyone watching still wondering which team would emerge victorious.
However, with just 13 seconds left in the first half, an unlucky ball led to an SPF breakaway, ultimately giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
Entering the second half, Westfield knew they had to bring even more energy than ever before. Countless crosses and shots just narrowly fell short of the net; however, the Blue Devils struggled to convert those chances. Head coach Eric Shaw said, “If we get one of those [shots] in, it changes the complexion of the game. Part of the game is to bury the ones you create and we just weren’t good enough in that area.”
The Blue Devils never backed down from the two-goal deficit. While the result did not go their way, senior goalie Simon Gunzberg said, “We know how far we’ve made it. Last game we came back after being down, so I think we kept hope that we could come back. Unfortunately, we did not finish the chances that we needed to. But, we stay in it because we know we have the quality.”
While the final result was not what the Blue Devils had hoped for, the score could not detract from the team’s resilience and determination. Senior Lucas Grygiel added, “I think we can take pride in the effort we put in. We worked really hard the whole game.”
Shaw agreed saying, “We competed. We went from 0 to 80 [minutes] and competed. We never gave up.”
Despite a defeated student section and the disappointing loss, Westfield’s mindset going into the state tournament is that of persistence and determination. The Blue Devils are next in action on Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. as they play the first round against Newark Eastside at Kehler.
