Nerves shiver through the fans, players, and even the coaches as the girl lacrosse team faces the No. 1 seed in the county, Oak Knoll, for the semifinal round of the Union County Tournament. With two minutes left in the second quarter, Gilli Cohen runs through a crowd of Oak Knoll players and finds the back net for her second goal of the game. This goal gave Westfield their biggest lead of the game, 5-2, but would unfortunately be the last time Westfield would be able to put points on the board.
Westfield “absolutely dominated the first half, and in the second half it just came down to the draw and offensive turnovers”, said senior captain Lucy Mineo. The last time the girls faced Oak Knoll, they lost 15-6 and got 8 draw controls, whereas Oak Knoll got 16. However, in this game Westfield was able to even it out as both teams got 10, junior Abi Mokrzycki leading the way with 7.
“I think we played outstandingly. Our game plan was to be better than last time, when it was 15-6. We were up most of this game, we wanted to stay level-headed, commit to the double teams, move the ball quick, and we did all that. At the end of the day it wasn’t enough, but we raised the bar for ourselves, and I’m excited to see where it’s going to take us” said head coach Katie DaSilva.
The girls played a great game, and despite not taking home the win, they are able to build off of this game. “From endline to endline everything looked so good, and there wasn’t one weak spot,” said Mineo. “I honestly think this game sets the stage for what’s to come. We are already at the end of our season, and this was definitely the best game we’ve played, and I think anything less than this performance would just be disappointing. The way that everyone feels right now, in pain, is the way that we should have been feeling all season, so now we know what it’s like to come off the field after giving it our all.”
Cohen led the way with two goals, and Alice Manzo, Juliana Molinelli and Lucy Mineo were all able to contribute with one each. Senior goalie Kaitlynn Czarnecki played a great game and kept Westfield in the game with 10 saves.
“For states we need to keep the positive energy and ride the high. I feel like this group really craves a positive environment that Varhley and I have created, and they realize their potential. The skill has always been here, and we unleashed it on them,” said DaSilva.
The girls will continue their season on Tuesday against Ridgewood at Gary Kehler Stadium.
