A stadium of sorrow filtered the turf as Westfield failed to score the tying goal against rival ALJ in the final minutes. Besides a monumental penalty stroke save by Haley Berger, facilitating some energy in the second half, the Blue Devils were practically nonexistent in the first.
Head coach Corrine Varhley said, “The first half was lackluster, but the second half, they came out so fired up. They dominated the entire second half, but it was a little too late.”
In addition to a fuzzy first half, the contest was undermined by high tension and agony among the squads. Senior Anna Mangold said, “We really wanted to win. We really wanted to build momentum and show our face. This is definitely one of our big rivals, and this is always a big game for us. And we didn’t really start playing our game until the second half.”
Despite a slow start, the Blue Devils managed to stay in the game behind a goal late in the third quarter by senior Maren Restivo. The offense started to click, but it was a tad too late. The girls attempted to replicate their small-ball performance and lockdown the defense that they executed well in their recent game against Newark Academy.
Mangold said, “Getting offensive momentum by using the sideline ball helped because we knew we couldn’t pass it in the middle since the ball kept getting stolen. I think the defense in the midfield worked really well together, too, in shifting the ball up. We just needed to finish.”
Varhley attested to their offensive game plan. “Our game plan was to keep it out of the middle and keep our small ball because our small ball on the sidelines is our best play,” she said.
Ultimately, the girls tried relentlessly in the final minute to get a shot in the goal, yet nothing prevailed.
Although the girls came up short, the Blue Devils’ day was salvaged by their goalie reaching a career milestone of 100 saves. Senior goalie Haley Berger complimented her success and progress at the position.
Berger said, “Personally, this is the confirmation that I’m working really hard, and I’m excited to move on to the next milestone. I think my game sense has improved a lot and I’m much better at figuring out where I need to be, what’s going to happen next, and how to work well with my teammates.”
Varhley noted the importance of showing up for the whole game, rather than just a half. “It’s going to be good competition playing another county game and playing against Kent Place on Friday,” she said. “They are another team that is like ALJ, like North Hunterdon, that is a really highly skilled team. All of these games are beatable if we show up and play 60 minutes, not 30.”
Westfield looks to earn another win as they face off against Kent Place away at 4 p.m. on Friday.
