Westfield defeated Cranford, 2-0, on Wednesday in a one-sided affair. It was the third time the teams have faced off this year, and this one ended in the same fashion as the others, with Westfield walking away victorious.
Westfield got off to a hot start offensively, having several corner kicks and two quick shots on goal. The Blue Devils maintained possession throughout the first half, slowly inching their way toward the goal. Westfield’s passing was its greatest strength, which allowed the Blue Devils to tire out the opposition. Seniors Ryan Bertsch and co-captain Michael Blake put shots on goal that were stopped by the Cougars goaltender.
As Westfield maintained its possession, senior co-captain Noah Fischer sent a cross to junior Ben Nematadzira, but Nematadzira missed the header as the pass was too high. Westfield continued to keep possession with precise passing and communication which allowed Nematadzira to hit a shot past the goalkeeper, putting the Blue Devils up 1-0.
Cranford started the second half with a great shot on goal, but it was followed by an even better save by senior goalie Michael Liebermann.
A few of the Blue Devils’ coaches were upset with how the calls were going, leading to a dispute with the head official and a yellow card against Westfield.
Shortly after, Bertsch connected on a rebound goal, making the score 2-0.
The rest of the second half was played very conservatively by the Blue Devils. They took a small amount of shots as they continued to passively push the ball through the midfield.
“Going into the game we knew we were going to have the ball for a majority of the match based on the previous two games against them. So, our strategy was to have possession with a purpose, which means to maintain possession while going forward and attacking the defense. The strategy proved to be successful as we were able to win,” said Fischer.
This game marked the first win in this year’s county tournament for the first-seeded Blue Devils, who walked into the quarterfinals with a two-round bye. Westfield will play either Summit or Union on Saturday at ALJ, where the Blue Devils, the reigning tournament champions, look to make their way to a third consecutive appearance in the county final.
