Long Branch made an hour-long trip to Westfield on Saturday afternoon in hopes of breaking the Blue Devils’ season-long unbeaten streak. Although they fell short after 96 minutes of intense play, unranked Long Branch put up a physical fight against the fourth-ranked boys team in the state.
In this nail-biting game, the hero to end it was senior midfielder Evan Crozier. Crozier inadvertently chipped the ball over Long Branch goalkeeper Chris Lazo as he made an attempt to tip the ball over the crossbar. Luckily the ball floated over Lazo’s head despite the mishap by Crozier. Although Lazo had 11 saves over the course of the game, he was unable to stop Crozier’s high shot with less than four minutes left in double overtime.
Westfield controlled the possession for the majority of the first half, but was unable to connect with the back of the net. About 30 minutes into the game, junior midfielder Zach Preucil had a one-on-one chance against Lazo, but shot it just wide of the goal.
The first half ended scoreless. Westfield played strong defensively as senior goalkeeper Michael Liebermann had only two saves over the course of the game.
Throughout the game a total of eight yellow cards were handed out, one to Westfield and the rest to Long Branch, including the coach. Co-captain Noah Fischer was the Westfield player to receive a yellow card after colliding with a Long Branch player going up for a header. One player on Long Branch received two yellow cards, sending him out for the rest of the game. Long Branch played a man down for the majority of the game.
Westfield was unable to take advantage late in the second half as Lazo was taken out of the net after contracting a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct. Long Branch’s backup keeper stepped in net for a few minutes and held Westfield scoreless before Lazo subbed back in.
The Blue Devils came into the second period of overtime with an immense amount of energy, starting from co-captains Noah Fischer and Michael Blake. “Going into overtime you try to get the boys energized and help them keep going,” Blake said. “It just comes down to who works the hardest.”
Clearly, Blake’s advice translated as senior attacker, and the team’s top goal scorer, Ian Schultz was able to find Crozier in the box for his game-winning goal. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, the crowd erupted in ecstatic cheer as they watched the team celebrate at the corner flag.
Crozier said, “I felt a goal coming for us all game and it was an amazing feeling to be the one to score it.”
The Blue Devils finished with their fourth shutout of the season and look to carry this momentum into their next game against Cranford.
