Hanging heads, drooped shoulders and disturbed faces were displayed on Westfield as the whistle blew. Final: 14-5. This game marked the sixth year in a row Westfield fell to Oak Knoll in the Union County Tournament semifinals, with last year being one of the Blue Devils’ closest opportunities to reach the final, losing only 9–6.
It all fell apart after halftime.
The Blue Devils kept it close in the first half, cutting through the Oak Knoll defense and finding open opportunities to bury a goal. This strategy worked as Westfield trailed 7-4 at halftime with goals from junior Kate Watson, junior Julianna Molinelli, freshman Alice Manzo and junior Sofia Della Rocco.
“We needed to get wide and spread out,” said Molinelli, frustrated. “There was a lot of miscommunication with our passes and a bunch of turnovers that really hurt us going into halftime.”
As the Blue Devils took the field for the second half, there was a sense of pride in the air. Westfield is known for its glorious comebacks, and this was the perfect chance. With unstoppable aggression, Della Rocco answered Westfield’s prayers, shifting behind the net and burying a low shot. 7-4 Oak Knoll.
Then, pain.
If a fan had gone to use the bathroom for only five minutes, they would have come back to a 10-4 Oak Knoll lead. That’s how fast the Royal offense was.
Westfield soon went into a panic, frantically trying to organize the offense before the gap was too big. It was too late. With only 18 minutes to go in the game, Oak Knoll scored a magnificent fast-break goal. 11-4 Royals.
While hope was dwindling, Westfield was in need of a spark, but there was still time. However, with time comes change, and this change wasn’t what the Blue Devils expected.
The Royals’ brutal fast breaks and relentless defense gave them scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity. Junior goalie Kaitlynn Czarnecki did what she could to stop the bullet-like shots. There was no hope.
“They pushed out on us and put a lot of pressure on the ball,” said senior Lily Dickerson. “Their goalies had a lot of good saves which hurt us even more on offense.”
After a few more Oak Knoll goals, Westfield created a few chances, including a fierce inside cut by sophomore Abi Mokrzycki and countless dodges from Della Rocco. However, the Royals held the Blue Devils back, securing a dominant 14-5 victory.
“We need to start to see some more success on the offensive end,” Dickerson said. “Our defense has improved so now it’s time to focus on the offense in which we really need to focus on our movement.”
Despite Westfield’s elimination from the Union County Tournament, the Blue Devils look to the future. The Blue Devils were also missing some of their most important offensive players Wednesday as senior Ella McLane was out with a concussion and Lucy Mineo was suffering from an ankle injury.
Westfield hopes to learn from such an unfortunate loss as it faces rival Summit on Tuesday.
