It was clear ALJ was energized for its field hockey Union County quarterfinal against the Blue Devils as their warm-up playlist echoed through Gary Kehler Stadium. However, Westfield assistant coach Kathryn DaSilva was ready to match that energy as she told the Blue Devils to work hard on the field and run hard off the field.
Senior co-captain Ella McLane took this advice to heart with her dominant offensive pressure and strong leadership to help push her teammates.
Westfield’s defense remained strong throughout the first quarter, led by senior Emily Leary and sophomore Abi Mokrzycki. But ALJ’s offense managed to snake around the Blue Devil defense and score the first goal of the game with 9:38 left in the 1st quarter.
A foul with 6:52 left in the first gave the Blue Devils an opportunity for a penalty shot. However, the ALJ goalkeeper made a clutch save. With Westfield’s offense and defense both on edge, the end of the first quarter left ALJ leading, 1-0.
The second quarter was a stalemate with shots being fired at both goals. Junior Lucy Mineo was a clear standout as she constantly helped move the ball towards ALJ’s goal.
While Westfield’s offense put up a fight, the Blue Devil defense was repeatedly put under fire as ALJ was quick to march back on offense. Consequently, the second quarter ended 1-0 with ALJ holding onto the lead.
Both goalies were playing an amazing game with the Blue Devils’ Lauren McDonough racking up numerous saves by halftime.
When the start of the third quarter came around, Westfield was ready to bounce back and become a threat to the determined Crusaders. The Blue Devil offense presented an immediate force, including a close breakaway by senior co-captain Julia Schneider that was called back.
Westfield ruled the third quarter with junior Katie Walsh refusing to back down from ALJ’s tough defense. However, this domination on offense proved to be faulty as the Crusaders scored off a controversial foul, pushing ahead 2-0.
Despite beautiful saves made by McDonough and close shots by the Blue Devil offense, ALJ held out for the remainder of the third quarter with the score at 2-0.
A clear theme throughout this heated matchup was Westfield’s ability to put up hard, physical fights that later become extinguished due to the Crusaders’ defensive counter-attacks.
Westfield remained hopeful going into the fourth quarter as it looked to advance to the county semifinals where it would take on Oak Knoll.
Once again, the Crusaders and the Blue Devils went back and forth with Westfield’s offense coming inches away from the ALJ goal. Sophomore Emma Blake did her part by giving Westfield various offensive opportunities that simply couldn’t be capitalized.
As the fourth quarter wound down, the Blue Devils ran out of gas as they pushed forward all game long only to be forced back by the resilient Crusaders. Due to the Blue Devils’ fatigue, ALJ sealed up the remainder of the game with a 2-0 victory.
It was a crushing defeat because the Blue Devils have been eliminated from the Union County Tournament. However, Westfield remains strong as the girls look to fix their mistakes from this game and use it to better themselves for the upcoming state playoffs.
When asked about the biggest thing the team needs to fix to prevent the mistakes of this game from reoccurring, McLane said, “I think in today’s game our mental game got the best of us. They scored the first goal and I think we cracked at that. I also think that our communication all across the field was not great, we had fouls over communication. This game was a good growing opportunity and a reason to reflect, especially for the seniors and Coach Varhley it was personal.”
The Blue Devils look to redeem themselves on Monday as they face off against 9-2 West Essex.
