The stands were crowded for the Blue Devils as they took on the Summit Hilltoppers in a highly anticipated top-10 matchup Tuesday afternoon.
The game opened up with the Hilltoppers taking possession, but that didn’t last long as senior goalkeeper Michael Liebermann gained control of the ball and switched the field, giving Westfield the ball in Summit territory. The Blue Devils couldn’t get much going, however, as the Hilltoppers stopped Westfield from getting through and retook possession.
Summit had similar issues moving the ball, leading goalkeeper Sebastian Arias to yell, “make sure you communicate” from across the field as his team turned the ball over to Westfield senior captain and Hobart commit Noah Fischer.
Westfield then pushed the ball out to senior Anthony Buoscio, who saw a gap in the defense and made a centering pass that was broken up by a Hilltopper defender.
With 19 minutes left in the first half, a pass by Buoscio intended for sophomore Ethan Wade was broken up by a slide tackle from Summit defender Graham Buchanan. The game was physical throughout, but the refs let play continue until a questionable yellow card was shown to senior midfielder Evan Crozier. The call was met with “boos” from an energetic Westfield crowd.
Westfield responded with a big offensive push, resulting in shots on goal from Crozier, senior Ian Schultz and Wade. Though none of the shots resulted in a goal, they had the Hilltoppers on their heels as Westfield reset with junior Derek Azevedo facilitating the offense with a quick pass to sophomore Niko Pierce, whose ensuing cross to Schultz led to a big goal in the closing minute of the first half to put Westfield up 1-0. When asked what it meant to have a lead going into the half, Schultz said, “We had the momentum going into the second half, it gave us the early hand.”
The Blue Devils came out firing on all cylinders in the beginning of the second half as junior Adam Tukaczynski nearly sent one to the back of the net, but Arias was able to make the save. Minutes later, the Hilltoppers had an opportunity to even up the score on a fast-break chance, but they were called offsides as their forward neared the goal.
The Hilltoppers continued to add pressure deep into Westfield’s territory; however, Noah Fischer was the anchor for the Blue Devils’ defense. His strong communication skills killed numerous Summit chances. Fischer said that communicating with his teammates on every possession is super important and he is willing to “do whatever he needs to do to get the boys going.”
Multiple fouls against Westfield in its own territory provided Summit with opportunities to even up the score. Meanwhile, Liebermann was a brick wall in net, saving shots left and right.
Midway through the second half, Buoscio threaded the needle and led Azevedo in stride in what seemed to be a one-on-one opportunity between him and Arias, but a defender for the Hilltoppers came out of nowhere and performed a well-executed slide tackle to prevent a potential goal.
Five minutes later, a breakaway broke out for the Blue Devils, and junior forward Benedict Nematadzira found Buoscio deep into Summit’s half. Buoscio was able to capitalize and send a rocket into the net to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Hilltoppers were reluctant to concede defeat as they quickly found themselves deep into Westfield’s territory once again. Liebermann and Fischer maintained their composure and each made key defensive plays to keep the Hilltoppers scoreless. This ultimately demoralized the Hilltoppers as their chances of coming back slimmed.
The Blue Devils held on to capture another win, their third of the year to remain undefeated. The Hilltoppers fell to 2-1, but they will be looking for revenge when the two teams meet again in just 15 days.
