The cold fall weather brought rain and chills to fans and players throughout Shimme Wexler Field at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. The Blue Devils, who previously tied the Raiders 0-0 on Sept. 20, were looking for revenge.
Right off the bat and only five minutes into the game, the Blue Devils had a great opportunity to take an early lead after senior Cat Angel threaded the needle and hit senior Ciara Dursee in stride, but Dursee shot the ball right into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Moments later, senior co-captain Emma Kelesoglu saw and took advantage of a great chance as she was able to receive the rebound off the goalkeeper and send a strike into the back of the net. Only 10 minutes into the game, Westfield jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Raiders.
Speaking of her quick goal, Kelesoglu noticed that there was space between the Raiders’ 3-5-2 formation which allowed her to sneak the ball into the back of the net.
Throughout most of the first half, SPF was unable to string together a well-oriented possession deep into Westfield’s territory. The stout Westfield defense, led by freshman Callie Schmidt, sophomore Audra Toth and senior Emily Weinstein, denied the Raiders of any serious scoring opportunities.
With 10 minutes left of play in the first half, senior Naval Academy commit Chiara Cosenza placed a great shot on goal, but as the Raiders’ goalkeeper was unable to haul in the shot, junior Ella Cadigan finished off the play and extended the Blue Devils’ lead to 2-0 going into halftime.
The second half was no different for the Blue Devil’s strong offense. Westfield came out firing with constant shots on goal including a few close breakaway shots. Junior Marisa O’Connell came close to scoring a Blue Devil goal halfway through the second half, but the Raiders goalkeeper was quick to save the shot.
Westfield’s offense maintained its dominance as they kept the ball in the Raiders’ half of the field and forced the ball out of bounds whenever the Raiders had control. The Blue Devils’ ball movement was especially impressive with Angel weaving around defenders and Kelesoglu’s key passes.
After more close goal opportunities from Westfield, the Raiders seemed extremely sluggish on the cold, wet field. The Blue Devils were able to capitalize on this by keeping the ball on offense and posing as a threat until the final horn sounded.
Despite various close efforts from the Raiders’ offense in the second half, the Blue Devils came out victorious, 2-0, pushing their record to a brilliant 8-0-1.
When asked about how Westfield played differently leading to their success compared to their last match against SPF, Cadigan said, “We had a lot more energy this time. We came in knowing we wanted to win. We communicated a lot and we capitalized on their mistakes.”
The Blue Devils hope to continue their eight-game win streak against Governor Livingston on Friday. To prepare for the Highlanders, Kelesoglu said, “We have to work with our momentum and keep it up.”
