After a late shot by Scotch Plains-Fanwood was blocked, the Blue Devils threw their arms up in the air as the final buzzer sounded and piled on top of junior goalkeeper Phoebe Klag in the Westfield net. Their 1-0 win gave the team their third straight Union County Championship and fifth in the last six years, solidifying their rank as a conference powerhouse.
“It feels so cool getting to say, ‘I’ve never lost a county game,’” said senior Mairin Fowler, who has been a fixture on the Blue Devils defense during the three-peat. “I think it’s just a testament to the program that we’ve built over the past few years, and it’s been like this for years, but we’re just finally getting to reap the rewards.”
“The pressure is on them to always come across and win. It’s not an easy thing. For us to be able to do that for five of the last six years, and for these seniors, most of them who have been on the team for three years, have only known the championships. It’s special,” said head coach Alex Schmidt.
The first half proved to be a physical battle, with both teams going head-to-head for the second time this season after tying 1-1 earlier this month. Shots by Westfield seniors Emilie Cadigan and Ava Jasina just missed the net. After a Raider shot was blocked, the rivals entered halftime scoreless.
“Scotch Plains is a really physical team. We knew that coming into this, and it’s always fun playing a rival. It’s always intense. Our defensive line before the game knew that last time we played them, we gave up a not great goal, and we just kept trying to remind ourselves to use this to send a message to the state that our defense is legit,” Fowler said.
Schmidt added, “We didn’t have Gillian Vega, so we had to change our lineup a little bit. The first time we played Scotch-Plains, they exposed some of our weaknesses.”
As the second half began, the Blue Devils continued to battle in front of an energetic student section. They broke through with a pair of shots in the early minutes that were wide while Klag also made a stop in the Westfield net. Then, nearly ten minutes into the half, sophomore Gabriella Hollins raced down the left sideline to retrieve a long pass. She chipped it to herself in the corner before centering it around a defender to senior Molly McDermott, who buried it low into the left corner of the net for her 15th goal of the season. It was McDermott’s first game back after missing the previous three with an injury.
“It was just amazing, and for me, with all my injuries and everything, getting that just felt really emotional,” McDermott said.
Westfield continued to apply the pressure, rattling off shots from Cadigan, Hollins and McDermott. SPF slowly fought back, with a series of shots and multiple corner kicks in the final minutes, none of which got past Klag.
“We win championships,” McDermott remarked. “So now that we have this one, we can kind of start focusing on sectionals and states, and all of our effort to who we’re playing, and make sure we play the top of the game.”
Fowler said, “We always say, ‘never change how you play for a team that you’re playing against, play the way that we play.’”
The state tournament begins this week, with the Blue Devils as the 1 seed in the Section 2, Group 4 bracket. With a 14-0-2 record, Westfield receives a bye to the second round, where they will host the winner of Perth Amboy and Woodbridge at Gary Kehler Stadium on Friday. They have yet to play either opponent this season.
“We got to the state semifinals last year, and I think a lot of these girls are still hungry because they felt unfinished last year,” Schmidt said.
Coming off an impressive win to seal the county title, the Blue Devils will enter Friday’s game with intensity and an eagerness to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with.
