Recap and Standouts: Westfield Upsets Seton Hall Prep 10-9 in NJ

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kicking off a weekend full of great lacrosse in New Jersey, Friday's matchup between Seton Hall Prep and Westfield brought the juice to Gary Kehler Stadium and did not disappoint. These two programs have a ton of history, but Seton Hall Prep hadn't lost to its longtime rival since the 2013 season, which made this victory all the more special for the Blue Devils.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This matchup featured a pair of 4-star senior lefty attackmen in [player_tooltip player_id='14926' first='Tyler' last='Juhlin'] (Dartmouth) and [player_tooltip player_id='14895' first='Cody' last='Lam'] (Princeton), who were facing off once again for their final time in high school. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With sophomore FOGO [player_tooltip player_id='24393' first='Lucas' last='Angel'] coming out hot, Seton Hall Prep had an advantage early in the game and set the tone with its physicality. However, Westfield's defensive unit, headlined by their 4-star defender [player_tooltip player_id='14902' first='Michael' last='Marshall'] (Cornell), played zone the entire game and was able to cause some turnovers and make stops against the high-powered offense of Seton Hall Prep to keep the game tied 2-2 after the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early in the second quarter, Westfield junior goaltender [player_tooltip player_id='24388' first='Corey' last='Gilford'] made a huge save on a great opportunity from Colgate recruit [player_tooltip player_id='15310' first='Luke' last='Knezovic'] to hype up the Blue Devils, but Seton Hall Prep was able to answer with two quick goals from Juhlin and Knezovic. From there, Westfield went on a 3-0 run. Then with under a minute and Westfield man-down, Gilford made a great save and started to push the ball ahead. All of a sudden, his brother [player_tooltip player_id='24395' first='Christian' last='Gilford'] came streaking out of the box with no defender on him, catching the Pirates out of position in their 10-man ride and finishing with the goalie out of the cage to put Westfield up 6-4 at the half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third quarter was a defensive battle that featured only three goals. [player_tooltip player_id='24397' first='Garrett' last='Ferguson'] scored again in an unsettled situation off a nice pass from sophomore LSM [player_tooltip player_id='24399' first='Ben' last='Seward'] before Lam got on the board for his first of the day. In the third quarter, it felt like Westfield was getting the 50/50 balls and making the hustle plays to keep Seton Hall Prep scoreless until sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='24402' first='Owen' last='Dunleavy'] finished with 36 seconds left to cut the deficit to three. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westfield made it tough all game with its zone D, which forced Seton Hall Prep to settle for a lot more outside shots than it would've preferred. The Pirates were never able to sustain their momentum too much until the fourth quarter came around, ripping off three consecutive goals in 71 seconds left to only trail 9-8 with 6:40 left. Lam then finished off his hat trick with two goals in the fourth quarter, and Juhlin matched him with another two tallies in the final stanza, with his last coming with 1:52 left before Westfield ran out the clock to finish off the upset over a program it hadn't beaten in over 10 years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Now, let's take a closer look at the standouts:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["14895"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Lam is a dominant left-handed attackman who has a great stick and uses his size to his advantage. He not only posted three goals but scored them all in different ways. His first came on the doorstep, where he needed to use quick fakes to deceive the goalie. His second was off of a dodge, and his third tally came from a backdoor cut off a nice pass from Coyle on Westfield's only man-up opportunity of the game in the fourth quarter. Lam now has 10 goals and three assists to start the year.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["24386"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"A great complement to Lam's skill set on the other side, Coyle finished with two goals and three assists. Whether he's dodging from X or the right side, he does so with his head up looking for cutters, which is what I like most about his game. But when he has the opportunity, the UMass commit can step down and let it rip. He uses his frame well and has a physical style of play that you'd want from an attackman. Coyle has nine goals while leading the Blue Devils with 14 assists so far this year.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["24388"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"A strong presence in net, Gilford made a ton of bit-time saves on Division I commits in big spots throughout the game, tallying nine saves along with the assist to his brother before the end of the first half. Westfield's defense held the Pirates to one goal on four man-up opportunities and did so thanks to Gilford's stops and caused turnovers from his army in front of him. Gilford, who is still uncommitted, has 40 saves in five games this season.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["14926"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Juhlin is a threat to any defense, but Westfield's idea to play zone defense limited what Juhlin and this offense could do and forced them to shoot from range. Fortunately for Seton Hall Prep, the Dartmouth-bound lefty can do just that and did so in big spots down the stretch in the fourth quarter when his team needed goals and momentum. He found the net four times on Friday and leads his team with 12 goals on the season.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["14967"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Mainly operating from behind the net, Schweiger finished with three assists on Friday. On a team with five or six guys who could start at attack, Schweiger stood out to me because of how active he was in that righty X spot in the Pirates' offensive zone set. He always keeps his feet moving with his head up making the smart plays. The Air Force commit has five goals and five assists so far this season.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-661fd2318736c"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Notable Outcomes in NJ:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Friday, April 12:</span><br>Rumson-Fair Haven 14, Christian Brothers 9<br>Mountain Lakes def. Bergen Catholic 8-6<br>Don Bosco Prep def. Ramapo 9-4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Saturday, April 13:</span><br>Summit 9, Mercer Island (Wash.) 6<br>Garden City (N.Y.) 7, Bridgewater-Raritan 2<br>Seton Hall Prep 11, Iona Prep (N.Y.) 10<br>Malvern Prep (Pa.) 7, Delbarton (N.J.) 2 <br>Ridgewood 8, Pingry 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->