With only two minutes to go, Westfield leads 3-2 and sophomore Andrew Johnson runs the ball up the field with one defender following. With Elizabeth playing two players down, he gets past the goalie and scores a goal, strengthening Westfield’s lead and giving them the 4-2 win.
Early in the first half, junior Cooper Janota scored off a free kick from senior Alex Rokhsar, giving the Blue Devils an early lead. That soon changed when Elizabeth was awarded a penalty kick only one minute later, off a foul from senior goalie Simon Gunzberg. In response to the abundance of fouls, Shaw stated, “It was just a matter of being a little bit more disciplined, not to give out a [penalty kick] later, or even the first goal.”
Throughout the entire game, yellow cards were being given out to both teams left and right. Elizabeth was given five, as well as two red cards, which forced Elizabeth to play the majority of the second half two men down. Westfield also accumulated three yellow cards over the course of the game. Key centerback for the Blue Devils, Reean Dias said, “Every time we play Elizabeth, it’s always gonna be physical.”
At the start of the second half, the game was knotted up at one, but Westfield came out eager to play and dominate Elizabeth. The go-ahead goal from Westfield by Damien Caponigro, assisted by senior Jake Russell, set an early tone for the remainder of the second half.
The game continued with intensity as both teams fouled each other on and off. Even with this, the Blue Devils’ offense stayed on top of their game and Russell managed to put another goal in for Westfield with only nine minutes remaining in the game, putting Westfield up 3-1.
Russell was ecstatic as he managed to tally up three points this game, including his first varsity goal. Russell said, “It felt really good, especially in a big game.”
Westfield seemed to have had the game in their pocket when senior Ben Lyons got a handball in the 18-yard box, resulting in yet another untimely penalty for Elizabeth. Elizabeth converted, making it a 3-2 game. Junior Jakub Kotowicz commented on the various fouls and said, “I think overall, we did really well. It’s just the fouls that are closer to the goal that are dangerous.”
Despite all the calls, Westfield emerged with a decisive win, with a late goal from sophomore Andrew Johnson. The game closed with a 4-2 win for the Blue Devils and they are back in action again today against St. Joes Metuchen.
