Story by Lauren Knego of NJ.com
After defeating Elizabeth for the first time in four years to open the season way back on Sept. 8, Westfield defender Noah Fischer had a pretty good idea of what kind of team the Blue Devils would be just a mere six weeks into the future.
“This is going to be a team to watch out for, counties, states, everything,” he said after the opening day win against the Minutemen. “We’re a tough team to watch out for.”
Fast-forward to the Union County Tournament final on Saturday night at Johnson High School, and it isn’t hard to see that Fischer’s prediction had been pretty spot on.
On Saturday night, the top-seeded Blue Devils, ranked No. 4 in the NJ.com Top 20, posted their 11th shutout of the season and sixth in a row with a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Elizabeth to win their second-straight county title. The Minutemen, ranked No. 13, were looking for their first title since 2019.
“They were one of the first sides we faced, we play them every year and we know they’re an amazing team so we knew we had to bring our all,” Westfield’s Anthony Buoscio said. “That game at the beginning of the year was so long ago and both teams have changed so much, so this was pretty much our first game against them and we just had to come in knowing that if we played our game we’d have a chance, and we did that.”
Westfield scored just under seven minutes into the second half when the Blue Devils were awarded a penalty kick. Fischer took the kick, which was initially saved by Elizabeth goalie Andrew Gonzalez, but the ball rebounded back out into play, where Buoscio was waiting. He nailed a shot that went past Gonzalez and Westfield led 1-0.
“I think Noah saw me behind him and missed on purpose so I could get the tap in,” Buoscio said. “I think he was generous with that. He played a great game at back and I don’t think we’d have a shutout without him.”
“I was super confident, but I was going to hold the ball and then I was going to give it to the other kid, but then I just ended up taking it. I won’t take any more (penalties),” Fischer added laughing. “I had to try it out, and it worked.”
After scoring its goal, Westfield went to work on doing what it has done best this season, which is defense. The Blue Devils have allowed a total of just four goals through 15 games.
“I think it’s sticking to our roots, playing out the back, playing safe, taking our chances when we get them and trusting each other,” Buoscio said. “I think that’s what it comes down to.”
While it may seem like Westfield has had it all put together since the start of the season based on its success so far, Fischer said that the Blue Devils’ offense has been a work in progress this season as a number of players up top are newer additions to the team.
“We’re getting more comfortable with each other, it’s a very new team, especially up top,” he explained. “It’s a little easier to work in the back and in the midfield, but everybody up top is new for us. And we’re just, we’re getting better up top, making better runs, everything, we’re just getting so much better up top and collectively as a team.”
For Elizabeth, which had won six of its last eight games, Saturday’s loss snapped a four game win streak in which the Minutemen outscored opponents 14-4.
“The expectation was we knew it was going to be a physical game, I mean it’s the final, but at the same time that’s what you live for,” Fischer said. “You don’t want to be playing a team you’re going to beat 6-0 or something, I want a physical game and that’s exactly what we got. We knew it was going to be a similar style of play and the difference between us and them was our mindset. We’re so motivated, we have such great communication back there. I don’t think they got that many good chances, maybe some shots, but chances that I really got scared on, I don’t think had that many.”
With the regular season coming to a close, both teams have set their sights on the upcoming state tournament, which starts on Thursday. With the win, Westfield is now the No. 1 seed in the North 1, Group 4 bracket after jumping over Elizabeth by two and a half points.
“We have high expectations for our team, and we’ll have those going into states,” Buoscio said.
