Last week, the Westfield boys soccer team suffered a 3-1 defeat against West Orange in the Group 4 semifinal round, ending an impressive 18-2-1 season. Along the way, the Blue Devils won their second straight Union County Tournament title and captured the North 2, Group 4 sectional championship for the first time since 2001.
“The fact that the program hadn’t won a sectional title since 2001 is an incredible feeling to be able to engrave our team name into the program’s history,” said senior co-captain Michael Blake. “The feeling was unreal and definitely something I’m going to take with me for the rest of my life.”
Junior striker Ben Nematadzira led the way for the Blue Devils with eight goals on the season. Senior forward and recent Ithaca College commit Ian Schultz had a team-high five assists. Senior goalkeeper Michael Liebermann had 12 clean sheets and conceded only 10 goals in 20 starts.
The Blue Devils went undefeated in their first six games of the season, including an upset win over highly ranked Elizabeth. Westfield’s seventh matchup of the season came against Scotch Plains-Fanwood at Red Bull Arena. After conceding a goal late in the first half, the Blue Devils fell to the Raiders, 1-0, for their first loss of the season.
Impressively, Westfield strongly bounced back and went on to win its next four regular-season games, with a hard-fought, 1-0, revenge-style win against the Raiders. With the strong finish, Westfield took home the Watchung Division Championship and earned a double-bye to the quarterfinal round of the county tournament as the No. 1 seed.
The Blue Devils kept up their momentum and with their 14th win of the season and the eighth win on their winning streak, the Blue Devils claimed the Union County Tournament title for the second year in a row. Westfield took down Elizabeth, 1-0, for the second time this season as senior Anthony Buoscio scored the game’s lone goal.
Following a 1-1 tie against St. Peter’s Prep, Westfield obtained the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament. Despite trailing 1-0 early to 16th-seeded Watchung Hills, Westfield answered with two goals of its own to win its opening-round match.
The Blue Devils went on to defeat Edison 1-0 in the ensuing round, and then the third and final clash against the Raiders occurred in the semifinal round, but this time the game was played on Blue Devil turf. SPF cracked the game open with a goal, however, Buoscio and Nematadzira added goals of their own to lift Westfield to a 2-1 victory.
Three days later, Westfield faced sixth-seeded Hunterdon Central in the sectional final round. Last year, HC dethroned Westfield in the semifinal round, and Westfield aimed for vengeance. Yet again, Westfield trailed 1-0 early, but Nematadzira was in the perfect place at the perfect moment to tie the game 1-1.
After a scoreless second half, the game headed into two 10-minute overtime periods under the golden goal format. In the second overtime period, Schultz sent a beautiful cross to senior co-captain Noah Fischer in which Fischer headed the ball into the back of the net for the game-winning goal. It was purely a scene straight from a movie. Fischer ripped his jersey off as the fans stormed the field. Westfield was crowned sectional champion for the first time since 2001.
Not surprisingly, Fischer said, “My most memorable moment of the season was winning the sectional final against Hunterdon Central in front of our home fans at [Gary Kehler Stadium].”
Westfield, ranked third in the state, went on to face fifth-ranked West Orange in the Group 4 semifinal round. The Blue Devils found themselves trailing 3-0 in the first half, and West Orange never looked back. Nematadzira was able to notch another goal in the second half, but Westfield fell, 3-1, and its sensational season came to an end.
“Our expectations going into the season were to compete in every game with 100 percent effort and to play for each other,” Fischer. “Our goals going into the season were to have a successful season and change the banner in our locker room.” Without a doubt, the Blue Devils exceeded their goals.
