The pressure was on as Westfield against West Orange headed into overtime, after an intense second half. Although Westfield had bounced back from an initial 2-0 deficit, they were still unable to scrape past the 2-2 tie. The Blue Devils tested the West Orange defense as they held possession for the majority of overtime. Eight minutes in, West Orange got close, but goalie Sofia Buoscio was able to stop the ball and clear it up the field. Westfield earned a corner kick which kicked off the game winning sequence. Ashley Yenawine passed the ball to Callie Schmidt who sent it to Mary Lane who fired the game winning goal securing a 3-2 overtime win for the Blue Devils.
Falling 2-0 to West Orange within the first 15 minutes of the game was not Westfield’s intention. The Mountaineers gained their first free kick just a few yards outside of the box which sent the ball to the back of the net. Just three minutes later, a Westfield handball inside the box earned West Orange a penalty kick causing them their second goal of the game.
The Blue Devils were not ready to give up there. The momentum shortly picked up as sophomore Georgia Morrelli fired the ball in the goal, closing the gap to 2-1. Westfield knew they were still in this and they were ready to tie up the game.
West Orange began to feel the pressure. After dominating the first 15 minutes, Morrelli’s goal seemed to shift the energy of the game. Westfield picked up the pace and brought the intensity causing a back and forth game to close the first half. Head coach Alex Schmidt said “At halftime, we just talked about getting that next goal, tie it up at two and go from there.”
Heading into the second half, Westfield was ready to recover. Senior captain Erin Hazard said, “We needed to keep our composure, take a breath and trust each other and ourselves because we know what we are capable of. The main goal was to tell the leaders to lead and step up in times of chaos.”
Right off the bat, the Blue Devils were able to find many scoring opportunities but they struggled to place the ball in the back of the net. Shot after shot, Westfields offense was starting to wear down the West Orange defense.
10 minutes into the second half, senior Brooke Morrison found sophomore Ava Jasina in the center of the box who fired a shot past the goalie to tie up the score 2-2. The Blue Devils were back in the game and ready to score another goal.
Though Westfield could not score that final goal during the second half, they came out hot and ready to score that final goal in overtime. After scoring the game winning goal, Lane said, “I knew I needed to stay positive and keep playing hard to score. I did not want to give up and I just had to keep fighting and recovering even if I made mistakes.”
The Blue Devils are back in action this Tuesday against Old Bridge away at 4 p.m. looking to secure another win.
