Late in the first half senior captain Ethan Wade received a yellow card after an attempted slide tackle. After an offensively frustrating first 20 minutes, the tone of play turned from competitive and eager, to scrappy and violent. Throughout this game there were a total of four cards between the two teams.
Despite Ridgewood’s defense pressuring high and hard, the Blue Devils were able to produce several opportunities on the offensive end of the field. Head coach Eric Shaw said, “If you look at the first half we created many opportunities and it hurt us not scoring on those opportunities. We missed a good opportunity in front of the goal. We have to be better in the final third to be able to score a goal.”
On two separate occasions, junior Sam Judka hit the goal post, missing the opportunity to put his team on the board. After a particularly frustrating match, he said, “ I think we were complacent, we came into the game hype yet after an overtime win we didn’t perform to what we could’ve.”
The Ridgewood Maroons were dominant in the second half as they controlled the speed of the game. Ridgewood received three cards in the last six minutes of the game and this fueled them. Westfield’s backline was fighting hard to kick the ball out, however the Blue Devils started to break down and play dirty.
After losing 12 seniors last season, the upperclassmen are working hard to connect on and off the field as a team. Wade said, “We have a really close team and all of the upperclassmen have been taking on a mentorship role to help the underclassman navigate the newness of the varsity speed and schedule.”
As the Blue Devils have made it to the sectional tournament two seasons in a row, the team is anticipating big things this season as a program. Wade said, “We have a few things to sort out obviously, but we look to make it to states this season.”
This loss makes the Blue Devils record 3-1 on the 2024-25 season. The team isn’t getting discouraged and is keeping their heads held high. Wade agreed and said, “It’s tough, but I think as a team we will bounce back and come back stronger to win our next game and have a winning season.”
The Blue Devils are back in action home on Tuesday at 4PM, versus Monroe, hoping to get lucky and advance to 4-1.
