Senior Emily Kennedy capped a dominant first quarter with the final goal in a stunning 11-goal quarter for the Blue Devils, setting the tone early as Westfield overwhelmed West Orange from the opening whistle. The relentless attack never gave West Orange a chance to settle in, and it was clear this would be a runaway win for the Blue Devils before the second quarter even began.
State games are usually full of anxious emotions, as teams fight tooth and nail to keep their season alive, which is why Westfield’s dominant 18-0 win against West Orange in the first round of the North Jersey Group 4 tournament seemed very different than what one expects to see in the post-season.
Not only did Westfield flex the strength of just a few players, the team boasted a full program win, with 10 different players recording at least one goal for the Blue Devils. Head coach Katie DaSilva said, “The big goal was to not let the level of play drop when the girls we brought up from JV went in, so I think we did a good job keeping the level of play pretty high.”
Co-captain and senior Gilli Cohen had a team high of 4 goals on the day, putting her over the 100 point milestone for the season. The Lehigh commit emphasized that the day’s score wasn’t handed to them but rather earned through a season of effort, Cohen said, “We’ve been working really hard, so to get a game like this where we can all get in, play together, have a lot of assists, goals and everyone is able to get their stats in is important”
Westfield has held some of the weaker opponents they’ve faced this year to very few goals, but this game was the first where they were able to keep a clean sheet. DaSilva said, “We had a goal of a shutout all season. We’ve come close, but it was nice to have a shutout.”
The team win certainly builds the momentum and confidence the team have spent building for what shapes up to be a deep state run in Group 4. Kennedy agrees, “I feel like this game is a good confidence booster and helps us heading into the next round of states.”
Westfield now shapes up to confront Montclair on Monday, June 1st at 4:15 p.m. at Kehler in the Quarterfinal Round of the tournament.
