The Union County Tournament is one of the most competitive and hard fought battles in all of high school sports. Westfield soccer is known for its depth and finding ways to win games.
The girls team led by head coach Alex Schmidt and assistant coach Katherine Wertheimer are coming off of the Group 4 State Championship win last year. They started this season on the same foot starting with a record of 11-0, not having lost a game yet. Deservingly, the team is in the No. 1 seed for the tournament and got a bye during the first round.
Wertheimer has many expectations leading up to the tournament and has been working all week in practice, she stated, “We are focusing on simplicity and consistency-keep the game simple, and do those simple things well. When we play simple we are at our best and can connect passes, move the ball and be intentional with our shot selection.”
Captains Olivia Digregorio, Callie Schmidt and Ashley Yenawine serve as the anchors of the squad. Despite facing several tough injuries, they have plenty of depth that has allowed players to rise to the occasion as they will all continue their soccer careers at the collegiate level.
DiGregorio stated, “Mentality is everything, trusting each other is how we are going to win. We are like a little, second family and if we work together we will find success.”
Last year the squad won the UCT defeating Summit. As they look to make the same statement this year, they will see some unfamiliar teams in this year’s bracket. This year some of the other teams Westfield will look out for is Cranford who was awarded the No. 2 seed, and the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds are Summit and Elizabeth, respectively. All teams are on the hunt for the trophy.
The girls team will kick off their tournament against Union on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Westfield has not played Union since 2021, however the last five times they have played against each other the total score was 22-1, Westfield in favor. They look forward to the challenge and they believe their team chemistry and past success will help them build a winning team.
The boys team led by head coach Eric Shaw have had a tough season with a record of 5-7-2, but they look to put everything on the line as they will soon begin their championship run. Co-captains Sam Judka and Alex Rokhsar have led the team this season and have emphasized how much this county run means as they are halfway through the season. Junior defender Reean Dias is a leader on and off the field and while he may not have the title, he knows what is at stake and is a key piece to keeping the back line in check.
Dias stated, “We know this is the most important time of our season and if we think about the county final before we play in the first few rounds, I promise you we are going to lose. It’s all about having a positive mentality and taking one game at a time.”
The team has had many heartbreaking games this season, but they believe they can put it all behind them and prove to the county that they are the best. Throughout the regular season, Westfield has played against all of the top seeded teams in the tournament.
Scotch Plains-Fanwood is the No. 1 seed, followed by Westfield at No. 2, Summit as No. 3 and Elizabeth as No. 4. Earlier this month, Westfield fell to SPF 1-0, making SPF the top seeded team. The team also had a tough battle against Summit tying them 1-1, however they had a dominant win over Elizabeth 4-2.
This year many new teams look to make a statement in the coming weeks. Just 2.5 power points separated the No. 2 and No. 7 seeds, highlighting how intense and competitive this tournament will be.
Shaw is prepared for the tough games that are soon to come. He stated, “The boys have been playing this game together for a long time and they know if you lose, you’re done. So as you get into the key moments we are going to need to rise together and win.”
The boys county campaign will also kick off this Saturday at home. They play against a solid New Providence team who is looking to make a statement with an upset win over a top Group 4 powerhouse.
Both teams hope to make it to the end, so they can compete in the tournament final on Nov. 1. These next couple of weeks will be a fight for the Blue Devils, but this is not Westfield’s first time in this situation and they look to use their past experience to bring home the win.
