For 80 minutes under the late fall sunset and in front of a roaring crowd on Sept. 8, the Westfield Blue Devils and Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders battled it out in a tight, closely contested battle. But after neither team found the back of the net in regulation, SPF finally broke through in overtime, sending the Blue Devils home with their first loss of the season.
The 1-0 loss for the team dropped their record to 2-1 on the season after winning their first two matches 3-0 and 1-0, respectively.
“We spent 80 minutes competing and we just wanted to continue to compete for those 10 minutes in overtime,” said head coach Eric Shaw. “And we did, we only had two minutes and that ended the game unfortunately.”
Despite the loss, junior Lucas Rossario performed exceptionally behind the Blue Devil net stopping all five shots he faced in regulation, including a penalty kick save late in the first half.
“I think [Rossario] deserves the man of the match,” said Shaw. “His timing, reflexes and his positioning in the box were all excellent tonight.”
With Rossario as a first-year varsity talent and an experienced defense that the boys possess, there’s a lot to look forward to in future games as far as keeping goals from out of the net.
“Its not just me, it’s also my defense and being able to work together as a team and keep working hard,” Rossario said.
SPF junior Luca Rousseau scored the only goal of the game with 7:27 to go in overtime, assisted by sophomore Cain Lambert. Freshman goalkeeper Ewan Huerfano stopped all three Westfield shots as the Raiders improved to 3-0 on the season.
Even with the result, Shaw said the Blue Devils showed the level of competitiveness needed to succeed as they move forward in the season. Westfield’s defensive effort kept the game scoreless through regulation, while Rossario and the rest of the team continued to battle until the final whistle.
Shaw said, “Our goal is to not give up goals. If we don’t give up any, which we didn’t in the first two halves, you can’t lose, so that’s our first mentality as a group.”
With SPF as a major rival and a kickoff late enough to where lights were able to illuminate the field later in the game, the energy was high for the entirety of the match with fans desperate to see their team find the back of the net.
Junior Andrew Johnson said, “When you are on your side you have to go with the crowd and drown out the other side so they don’t get into your head.”
“With how good they are and the rivalry we have, it’s all about grit and who wants it more. We both got chances and ultimately they finished one of them and we didn’t and that decided the game,” senior Reaan Dias said.
Westfield will continue their season against South Plainfield on Friday before their home opener against Cranford on Sept. 15.
