Under the lights of Ward Field, on a breezy evening that felt like the beginning of fall, WHS girls’ soccer scored early and immediately put David Brearley on their heels. The Blue Devils won the Tuesday matchup 6-1, improving their conference record.
The Blue Devils got off to a quick lead, with senior co-captain Georgia Morrelli scoring a goal under four minutes into the game. Westfield quickly added to the lead, with goals from senior Molly McDermott and junior Mia Zbranek. Brearley spoiled the quick lead after netting a goal with just over seven minutes left in the first half.
Despite giving up a goal in the final minutes of the first half, the Blue Devils maintained their composure and continued to control the pace of the game. Morrelli, who is playing her first few games back after a long absence due to injury, said, “it was a little rough at first but I am starting to get back into the groove of it. I haven’t played in 14 months, so this was a great game to come back to.”
Westfield’s offensive pressure gave the team momentum and forced Brearley to defend for most of the match. Even after building a lead, the Blue Devils continued to push forward, eventually finding the net three more times.
“I think that this was an important game for us,” head coach Alex Schmidt said. “They are a conference opponent, so it’s really important for us to be able to compete and win the championship of the conference.”
The Blue Devils also faced a defense that stayed compact and made it difficult to move the ball around on offense. Schmidt said “[They] played a low block, which means they keep everyone in the seam. So for us, it’s just really good patience to kind of break down a low block. Our players were able to pass around, not get anxious or just take random shots. In a lot of good ways, it was really good practice for us.”
“In the second half that’s what we really focused on, you could tell we had most possession of the game at that point,” senior co-captian Emilie Cadigan said.
With conference season still in its early stages, Westfield now turns their attention to the rest of the schedule. The Blue Devils will look to build on their strong start as they prepare for a series of challenging opponents later in the season.
“We’re excited for the future. We have Cranford on Thursday who at this point is also undefeated. Then the following Friday we play Rutgers Prep, who is preseason number one in the country, so we’re very excited for that opportunity, and then we have counties along with state tournaments, so we’re pretty excited.”
Next up, the Blue Devils head to Cranford on Thursday for a 4:15 p.m. start time, looking to maintain their undefeated record this season.
