A free kick right outside the 18-yard box: the perfect opportunity to set up something great. Up 3-0 in the North 2, Group 4 sectional semifinals, what’s the harm in trying something new. The girls lined up in an unfamiliar format: one Blue Devil behind the “wall” of defenders with everyone else on the other side, pretending. Sophomore defender Callie Schmidt had the ball. With a fake steal from sophomore Ashley Yenawine, Schmidt kicked the ball not up and over the wall nor across to the stack but instead, just to the right of the three defenders in front of her. Ella Cadigan, who was standing behind the wall, took advantage of the defender’s confusion, running through to meet the ball. With only one defender on her, Cadigan shot the ball just into the far left side of the goal, past the goalkeeper.
The crowd erupts. A seemingly impossible shot, and Cadigan pulled it off. Well, at least to the fans she did. The referee blows his whistle, deeming no goal despite the crowd’s reaction to one.
The problem was, even though the ball crossed the line into the goal, it had struck a triangular piece of metal between the inside of the goal and the net. This caused the sideline officials to view the ball as rebounding off of the goal’s post rather than its interior. “The play was a free kick play where Ashley ran over the ball then Callie knocked it around to Ella who was behind, and it worked perfectly. It was a really, really good goal, and unfortunately it got called back,” said head coach Alex Schmidt.
“It did go in,” said Cadigan. Others used explicit language to voice their frustration. But, the referee’s call stuck, and the score remained 3-0.
This controversial call would not matter in the end; the rest of the game was a blowout. Westfield would defeat Bridgewater-Raritan 4-0 to move on to the sectional finals.
The Panthers started the game with pressure; they were not going to make it easy. In the midfield, Westfield remained composed and consistent. They hardly let the ball come near the box, so much so that sophomore goalkeeper Sofia Buoscio would not see a shot the entire first half.
About 10 minutes into the game, Cadigan was able to break away from the defender’s tight coverage, striking the ball into the air at the 18-yard box. It soared, landing just out of the goalkeeper’s grasp. 1-0, Westfield.
Cadigan’s goal continued the momentum the Blue Devils have been building on all season. Scoring first only served to further prove how much they deserved to be here. They began to push harder against Bridgewater-Raritan’s press, keeping consistent possession of the ball. With ten minutes left in the first half, Westfield was awarded a corner kick. Raising her hand, senior Marissa O’Connell scanned the field before lobbing it into the frenzy in the middle. There, she found Cadigan who put it away again to further the lead, 2-0.
After the half, the Panthers came out thirsty. Dominating possession of the ball for the opening minutes, cries of “Wake up Blue Devils” and “Gotta be better” came from the Westfield’s sidelines.
The starters took the advice. In fact, they fed off of the shouts. It was not long until freshman Emilie Cadigan got her foot on the ball, maneuvering past defenders up the middle. With their sister telepathy, she perfectly timed a pass to Ella Cadigan who noticed a wide-open Yenawine on the right. She dribbles, she shoots, she almost scores. The goalie was on the ground, unaware of the open ball on the right of her. In perfect position, Yenawine snuck in a goal. 3-0, Westfield.
While the offense was in charge of putting Westfield on the board, the defense worked to keep Bridgewater-Raritan off of it. With momentum back on Westfield’s side, they would stop at nothing to end this game in a shutout. There were a few close corner kick opportunities, even a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box, yet sophomore Sofia Buoscio would not let Bridgewater-Raritan in. “As a defensive unit we came out strong and played lock-down the whole game. We covered each other really well and communicated well. And the shut out feels good,” said junior outside back Erin Hazard.
This marks Westfield’s fourth shut-out win in a row, and they have only conceded one goal total since their sole loss to Oak Knoll. On the season, they have scored 53 goals to opponents’ six and have gone 14-0 in goals during this sectionals tournament. “Super proud of the seniors. From Bridget [Holland] in goal to Kate [Giglio] on defense to Ella, Marissa, Rebecca [Xiong], and Sofia [Gesser],” said Schmidt. “They’ve done a great job in terms of leading.”
The controversial call on Ella Cadigan’s goal brought motivation for the Blue devils to make up for it. A corner for Westfield with 11 minutes remaining made for the perfect opportunity. Hazard placed the ball on the ground, crossing it to the muddle in the middle. With a few touches from both teams, Giglio made contact with the ball, striking it into the back of the net. The score was restored, 4-0. For the final minutes, Westfield rotated their lineup to allow almost every player a chance to play in the sectional semifinal. And when the clock struck zero, the players stormed the field, emphatic about their 4-0 victory.
So how do the Blue Devils do it? How do they hype themselves up, keep up the momentum? Hazard said, “We’re big on saying ‘Remember the feeling,’ because coming off the loss to Oak Knoll, we want to remember that feeling and come out stronger every single game we play.”
So, as Westfield progresses into the sectional finals against Hunterdon Central this Monday at 2 p.m. at home, they will take with them that simple phrase: Remember the feeling. Remember the chance that they lost in the Union County tournament, and remember the chance they have to redeem themselves in the next one.
