Less than a minute into overtime, a Summit Hilltoppers corner kick bounced off several Blue Devil defenders in front of the Westfield net before it was headed past a diving Lucas Rosario to win the game for Summit 2-1. The loss drops Westfield to 6-7-2 on the season following a two-game win streak.
“They’re the number one seed in the county. So we knew that it was gonna be a tough battle,” said senior Reean Dias. “We’ve been hot recently, and we just wanted to keep that momentum.”
The Blue Devils came out energized following the opening whistle, controlling play for most of the opening half. Westfield had several chances and shots on goal, including a penalty kick by senior Nathan Young that went wide. With 9:45 left, off of a corner kick, Dias set up sophomore Ryan Gibbons who fired a shot from the top left of the box into the opposite corner of the net, the only time Westfield found the back of the net in the afternoon.
“I just try to take shots when I’m open and look for opportunities to create goals,” said Gibbons, following his fourth goal of the season.
Westfield continued to create chances late in the half, but passed up a few open shots to keep their lead at one heading into halftime.
Going into the second half, Westfield started off slow, with a pair of Summit shots missing the net. The Blue Devils struggled to escape the Hilltoppers pressure, and with 33:20, a rebound was banked in off of a Westfield defender to tie the game 1-1.
The Blue Devils offense responded with a plethora of chances to dominate the rest of the half. Sophomore William Yenawine had a shot from the middle that was stopped and Rosario was strong in net, making a diving stop on a breakaway. Even with two corner kicks in the final minute, they were unable to find the back of the net, sending the team to overtime for a second straight game.
“I think we were very unlucky not to get up two goals and finish the game right there on some of those chances. The deeper the hole we dig for ourselves, the more opportunities you give a good team like this to come back and punish us and that’s what ultimately happened today,” Dias said.
Shaw agreed, saying that the Blue Devils were unable to find that “last moment” needed to take the lead. “Lack of creativity we just didn’t finish the chances we needed to finish,” he said.
Summit took possession first in overtime and never looked back, setting up the corner kick and game winning goal. This was the second overtime loss for Westfield this season.
“We knew from both goals they both come from set pieces so you know that if you look at their top goal scorers, before this game, the two center backs big guys, 11 goals so they can only get them when the ball is dead and they design plays for them and that’s where we struggled in the second half,” Shaw said.
Following the loss, Westfield heads into counties on Saturday, hosting the winner of Union vs. New Providence, two teams they have already beaten this season.
“The good thing about counties is once it starts everybody’s zero and zero. And after Saturday, we’ll win that game and we go to the next, and the next, and the next, until we win the championship trophy,” said Dias.
Shaw said, “The energy was certainly here and we expect the same thing going on Saturday, whoever we’re playing here, either Union or New Providence, so we talk about playing for those moments.”
The winner of the game on Saturday will take on Scotch-Plains Fanwood on the road next Tuesday.
