Senior Manny Gayanilo dribbled through the attacking third. To the defender’s surprise, he made a step-over move to his left, breaking free of the defender. Gayanilo was able to play it to senior Adam Tukaczynski who looked to move the ball to the net. He rifled it through the air from just outside the Chiefs’ 18-yard box, perfectly placing the ball out of the keeper’s reach and directly under the crossbar, giving the Blue Devils their first goal of the North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament exactly 10 minutes into the match.
Westfield, being rewarded the No. 3 seed in the sectional tournament for their impressive 11-4-3 record during the regular season, stepped onto the pitch after a 2-0 win over Kingsway in their previous matchup. The Blue Devils came with a drive in this elimination game as their Union County Tournament run ended with a semifinal fall to Elizabeth.
With any game having the potential to be their last, Westfield knew they had to bring 100 percent effort or their season would be done. “We knew that this could have been our last game. Could’ve been our last time together, so we had to treat it like any other [game]. We couldn’t let the fact that we were the higher seed get to us,” said senior captain Zach Preucil.
Piscataway kicked off the game with pressure for the opening two minutes, but the Blue Devils countered with relentless effort. Multiple free kick opportunities and shots from Westfield never formed into a goal as the Chiefs’ goalkeeper came up with saves on any attempts from the Blue Devil forwards.
The Westfield offense found a break in the Piscataway defense with Gayanilo’s goal, snatching their 1-0 lead. “Felt good. Good way to start off a game,” said Gayanilo. The Chiefs responded with pressure, but the Blue Devils quickly regained control of the game, forcing the opposing keeper to make numerous stops.
Westfield continued with multiple good runs with the ball, sparking an opportunity in the attacking third. They moved it into the Chiefs’ box, and Preucil battled gallantly with an opposing defender to squeeze the ball between the keeper and the post. However, while racing towards the ball, Preucil had forced the Chiefs’ player to the ground, nullifying the goal due to the foul.
The defense for Westfield never flustered throughout the match, making many key stops. Goalkeeper Luke Tennant made a tremendous stop diving to his right to reject a Piscataway goal with a few minutes remaining in the first half. Along with Tennant, the back four for Westfield never granted the Chiefs a good chance to score.
“Whether Luke or Lucas in goal, or it’s Ethan, Dave, Pat, all the guys in the back, they all did their job in terms of defending, winning 1v1 battles. This time of year, that’s what you need,” said head coach Eric Shaw.
With under four minutes left in the first half, the Blue Devils were maintaining possession. Sophomore Sam Judka crossed the ball over to senior Ben Nematadzira. He got a shot away on the edge of the small box, but a defender and the keeper dove in front of the ball, blocking it away. Luckily for Westfield, the rebound landed and quickly rolled to the right foot of junior Henry Ianuzzi. The keeper tried to recover, but his attempt was in vain as Ianuzzi could not let such an opportunity fizzle out. He finished the play with a strike into the back of the goal to boost the lead, 2-0.
Heading into the second half with a two goal lead, Westfield did not let up the pressure and play it safe like most teams do. Their intensity spawned a free kick just outside the Piscataway box. Even with the curved path of the ball, it struck off the crossbar and stopped the Westfield opportunity.
Westfield continued their dominance over the Chiefs, only allowing a couple of opportunities but nothing more. For the next 20 minutes, the two teams battled with physical play as Piscataway tried to keep their season alive.
In the remaining time, the Blue Devils rushed on the counter attack with three players driving towards the Chiefs’ goal. Sophomore Alex Rokhsar led the attack, handling the ball just outside the box. He gave the ball off to Gayanilo who sent a through ball to his left side for Judka. Judka used his patience until the keeper dropped out of his position. He slid the ball right past the goalie for his first goal of the year, cementing the final score of 3-0 and securing Westfield’s spot in the next round of the sectional tournament.
The Blue Devils take on Union on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Kehler. Preucil remarks, “We’re making sure we’re ready and in shape to play our game.”
