As the noise from the sidelines and stands descended into silence, senior Emma Schwarzenbek stepped up to take the corner with the game on the line. With one breath, Schwarzenbek took the shot, but after a scramble at the goal, she managed to find another gap that sent the ball to the back of the net. The goal that gave Westfield the 2-1 victory at last.
This win did not come easily for the Blue Devils. Westfield was able to maintain possession throughout the game, giving them a one-goal advantage heading into the fourth quarter. However, Summit pushed harder than ever, scoring with only three minutes left to force overtime.
Head coach Corrine Varhley noted the importance of how well the Blue Devils moved the ball today. She said, “I think just cutting in front of the ball, 50-50 balls, working together on our through balls and setting ourselves up for opportunities in the circle was way better than it has been in the past couple of games.”
Senior Anna Mangold attributed this to switching their playstyle, which ultimately paid dividends. Mangold said, “We used small ball a lot. We know that from past games, we’ve been using the big balls too much, and that we’ve just been completely losing control. So we are staying in control, passing the balls small and getting it up the field.”
Westfield was motivated more than ever after having fallen short in their past few games. The Blue Devils were playing with a different type of energy, trying to add one to their win column.
“I think [the team] has been so frustrated these past couple games because we’ve had really good games, but the results just haven’t been in our favor,” said Varhley. “So they were really fired up today to put a win in the books.”
Not only did the Blue Devils play for themselves, but they also played to break the recent history of ties among the squads.
Mangold said, “We were really motivated in this game, especially against Summit. They are one of our biggest rival teams. We’ve played them in overtime for the past three games, so we really wanted to win.”
Even through the Hilltoppers’ offensive pushes, the Westfield defense rallied. The defensive unit ensured that the ball stayed off their side of the field for as long as they could.
Co-captain and defensive player Chloe Martin said, “The backline has a lot of good chemistry, and we really work well together, so we were able to move on from our mistakes. Unfortunately, the reality as a defender is that your mistake shows on the board, which is very different from the offense and midfield. Our ability to move on from that and keep playing definitely helped us.”
In addition to a pivotal performance, the Blue Devils weren’t phased by Summit’s physicality. Instead, they used it to their advantage.
“I think [Summit] got really aggressive in the first half, and we had to stay calm because we knew that if we stooped down to their level, the game would have gone out of control. We stayed really calm, played our game and we didn’t worry about the other team,” said Mangold.
Westfield looks to continue with another win this week as they travel to Randolph on Saturday at 10 a.m.
