Leaves sprinkled the field as ninth-seeded Westfield faced eighth-seeded Livingston in the first round of the North Jersey, Group 4 sectional tournament. Despite high energy from the Livingston fans and low attendance on the Westfield side, the Blue Devils were determined to make themselves known.
However, the Lancers had a different mindset as they quickly attacked on offense. This offensive strategy allowed the Lancers to sneak by the fierce Westfield defense and put in an early goal in the first five minutes of the game.
Not much later, Westfield’s defense got mixed up in its communication, and the Lancers tipped in another goal with six minutes left in the first quarter.
Both teams were determined to continue their tournament run, and both contributed lots of physical contact and fouls. This worked in Westfield’s favor as a foul on Livingston playing defense behind the goal gave Westfield a penalty shot. Emma Schwarzenbek put the cherry on top as she sniped a crucial goal for the Blue Devils putting the score at 2-1.
When asked about how Westfield’s momentum changed after this important goal, Shwarzenbek said, “I think it got better because we had a chance.”
As the first quarter came to a close, the Blue Devils looked to be a dominating force on offense.
This was exactly what the Blue Devils did as junior Lucy Mineo constantly put pressure on the Lancers goalie with shots on goal. Westfield’s defense remained strong as well with sophomore Abi Mokrzycki and junior Erin Doherty making clutch steals.
It was clear Westfield was done playing around, and the Lancer fans were no longer the loud, rowdy crowd they were at the beginning of the game. The Blue Devils’ strong defense pushed forward as Westfield held out the remainder of the second quarter with a 2-1 Livingston lead at half.
During halftime, Westfield’s assistant coach Kathryn DaSilva said, “we have yet to execute properly” as she urged the offense to finish its shots to put the team ahead. Westfield was ready to follow this advice as the third quarter began.
Senior co-captain Ella McLane put hard shots on net only to be just saved by the Lancer goalie. The Blue Devil offense seemed to come together, not letting Livingston’s solid defense even come close to stopping their energy.
Similarly, senior co-captain Julia Schneider set Westfield up with various opportunities throughout the remainder of the third quarter. However, the Lancers were resilient with the third quarter wrapping up with Livingston ahead, 2-1.
While a few Westfield fans were growing worried as Livingston maintained the lead, Westfield fought to extinguish these concerns. With various opportunities on offense, Schneider led the Blue Devils as she posed as a threat to the Lancers’ worn-out defense.
It wasn’t long until Schneider finally capitalized, scoring a goal in the traffic of Livingston’s defense with only five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“I knew it was coming to me so I just had my stick low and I got the tap in,” said Schneider. “This really motivated us and I knew that if we hadn’t gotten a goal by then we wouldn’t have moved on.”
The energy at Allen “Jake” Jacobson Memorial Field completely changed immediately. Westfield went from a trailing underdog to a dominant force the Lancers could only be worried about.
Both teams remained strong on defense and hungry for the win. With the score tied, 2-2, at the end of the fourth quarter, Westfield and Livingston headed to overtime.
Westfield’s defense immediately came under pressure as the Lancers came out firing. This quickly changed as sophomore Emma Blake forced the ball upfield to set Westfield up with a crucial offensive possession.
However, the Lancer defense fought back, making this overtime a clear back-and-forth game. Before long, the first overtime period came to a close, and the Blue Devils and Lancers headed to double overtime. Westfield was ready to finally put the nail in the coffin as they were fired up in their huddle.
Almost immediately, Westfield fired shots at the Lancers goalie. Backed by a strong defense that refused to let Livingston move the ball, Westfield pushed forward. With the ball right in front of the Lancer goal, Westfield and Livingston briefly fought for possession before Shwarenzbek saved the day by burying a beautiful shot into the back of the net.
“I was just really happy,” Schwarzenbek said. “I obviously have three more years, but for a lot of the seniors this would have been their last game, so obviously we wanted to win.”
Unlike Livingston, the Blue Devils were able to capitalize when they needed it most as their constant opportunities paved the way for this crucial double-overtime goal.
Westfield will look to continue its playoff run in the North Jersey, Group 4 tournament. The Blue Devils will travel to face top-seeded Montclair in the quarterfinal round on Friday. Montclair won, 5-0, when the two teams met back in early September.
