Over the past 698 days, 29 girls soccer teams have tried and failed to defeat Westfield. On a crisp Saturday night under the lights, West Orange became the 30th.
The Blue Devils dispatched the Mountaineers, 1-0, biding their time in a physical game until seizing the lead early in the second half.
Westfield dominated possession in the opening half, embarking on threatening maneuvers but producing few shots. Senior forward Catherine Angel poked a couple shots wide, and senior defender Ciara Dursee whipped in a couple searching balls, but nothing came of it. At halftime, the teams sat in a 0-0 deadlock.
“Got to test the keeper,” head coach Alex Schmidt said he told his team at halftime.
His daughter, freshman Callie Schmidt, obliged. Eight minutes into the second half, she wove past a defender and fired from a central position 30 yards from goal.
The ball cleaved the air, arrowing toward the net. It dipped toward the crossbar. The goalkeeper jumped straight up, then recoiled as the ball hit the bar and bounced off her back and over the line.
Schmidt was mobbed by her teammates. “I was excited,” she said of scoring her first varsity goal.
A frustrated West Orange offense then became desperate. Led by forward Jaiden Schultz, the Mountaineers launched a series of attacks and retained the majority of possession for the remainder of the game. Schultz flitted between defenders on multiple occasions, and tension simmered between her and Westfield defender Audra Toth. “They were really dangerous and quick up top,” Toth said.
Westfield faced an onslaught of corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper and co-captain Sutton Factor punched away a couple of crosses, and West Orange failed to find the goal. “Limiting corners is probably something that we’re gonna work on,” coach Schmidt said.
The clock wound maliciously toward zero. Things grew chippy, hectic, frenzied. A rowdy contingent of West Orange fans shouted with gusto, doing their best to ref from the sidelines.
With a few minutes to play, Schultz navigated toward the Westfield goal and went down on the edge of the penalty area. A golden opportunity, perhaps, for a late West Orange equalizer. Factor frantically adjusted her wall. The ball floated in, drifting toward the back post, but was dealt with by the Westfield defense.
With the win, Westfield continued its dominant reign atop the New Jersey girls soccer scene. The Blue Devils earned their fourth straight clean sheet and extended their unbeaten run to 30 games.
The team’s persistent supremacy is especially noteworthy given its loss of senior co-captain and last year’s nj.com player of the year, Alyssa Martinez. Martinez suffered a season-ending injury five minutes into the season opener against Cranford, sidelining her for the season. Martinez produced 31 goals in her junior year, leading the team to a Group 4 state title.
“That’s a tough pill to swallow,” coach Schmidt said. “I think it’s taken a couple of games for us to understand the situation we’re in.”
In Martinez’s stead, the goal-scoring responsibility has fallen on new shoulders. Callie Schmidt became the 10th Blue Devil to score thus far this season; the team has outscored its opponents 14-2.
“We hate the fact that we don’t have Alyssa,” coach Schmidt said, “but it’s nice that other girls are now stepping up.”
Underclassmen, especially, have done their best to reinforce a veteran team accustomed to success. Freshman Callie Schmidt scored the goal; sophomore Audra Toth assisted it.
Westfield will now prepare for rival Scotch Plains, whom it will face at home on Tuesday. Scotch Plains holds a 2-1-2 record and has failed to defeat Westfield in the teams’ last four contests.
“We know every time we’re out here, there’s a target on our back being number one,” coach Schmidt said. “No matter how good or how bad Scotch Plains is, it’s always a rivalry game.”
