The energy rippled down through the Gary Kehler Stadium bleachers as the Westfield parents cheered to make up for the lack of fan presence during the mid-day game between Westfield and Edison. Senior co-captain Noah Fischer brought the same talkative nature to the field that the spectators endured from the first whistle, trying to fire up his team.
The dog fight between the top-seeded Blue Devils and the ninth-seeded Eagles ended in chaotic fashion as junior Derek Azevedo put Westfield on top. Only six minutes into the second half, senior Ian Schultz found Azevedo about 25 yards away from net. Azevedo whipped in the ball from the right side of the field, and it curled over the Edison goalkeeper to give Westfield the lead. Azevedo said he was initially “looking for Zach Preucil on the back post,” but he took a chance and “a little bit of luck” was able to drive the ball into the net.
This was not the only dangerous opportunity Westfield created. Early in the first half, Edison was called for a handball, giving Westfield a free kick from 30 yards out. Junior David Savranksy curled a promising shot towards the upper right corner, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar.
Preucil also showed no mercy towards the Eagles after a long throw from Fischer went into the box giving him the opportunity to shoot the ball with great speed. However, Edison’s keeper was committed to keeping his team’s season alive and made a magnificent diving save to corral the ball.
The most exciting look from Westfield came with just under five minutes left in the first half as junior Benedict Nematadzira found a through ball from Schultz and perfectly placed the ball in the back of the net. However, the refs took the goal away after a foul was called on Nematadzira just before his shot for pulling the Edison defender’s jersey.
Edison was unable to maintain possession of the ball for long periods of time as the Westfield defense was a brick wall all game. When Fischer went out early in the second half due to a thigh injury, seniors Drew Kornfeld and Cooper Delgandio limited the Edison offense’s scoring opportunities. Kornfeld said, “I realized that without Noah, our leader in the back, that we needed to step up as centerbacks and leaders.” However, when Edison did find space to get a shot off, senior goalkeeper Michael Liebermann had it locked down in the back with 4 saves.
Edison’s most dangerous attacks came from long throw-ins, but overall they were unable to convert.
The game was in a 0-0 deadlock at the half and started to get chippy. “Sometimes soccer is out the window and it is going to get a little chippy and heavy,” head coach Eric Shaw said. “We need to have that composure that we have learned over time.”
Westfield followed through with its relaxed tactic and was able to keep the pressure on the Eagles. With 12 minutes left in the game, junior Emanuel Gayanilo found Nematadzira racing towards the net again, but his powerful shot went just high of the goal. Ultimately, the one goal would be enough to send the Blue Devils to the sectional semifinals.
The Eagles were unable to soar on the day as the Blue Devils continued to end their opponents’ seasons. The Blue Devils gear up for their next match against Scotch Plains on Wednesday. These two teams have met two times this season with each team winning one of the games. In order to come out victorious in state games, “you just got to fight and fight and fight,” said Shaw.
