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Westfield's defense is getting it done
The Westfield boys soccer team has a very impressive offensive attack. With the likes of seniors A.J. Sheta and Ricky Guerra leading the way, the Bulldogs have tallied 26 goals through seven games in 2008. Perhaps more impressive, however, is that in five of those seven games, Westfield's defense has recorded a shutout.Seniors Kyle Guthrie and Randy Rabung and sophomore Korey Fleming form a strong line in front of senior keeper Tony Nosal, who has all five clean sheets in net.
“We've had a lot of shutouts this season,” said senior captain Trey Messiah, who started on the back line the past three seasons, but is also spending some time in the midfield this year. “We're playing with the same guys we played with last year, so we have good chemistry in the back. We try to do a lot of communicating. We know where everyone's at.”
Messiah has filled a hybrid role for the Bulldogs this season. He began Monday night's game at Yorktown on defense, but moved forward later in the game and scored a goal in Westfield's 2-0 win.
“Our guys in the back are pretty quiet,” coach Tom Torres said. “Trey is a guy that will talk to the boys and tell them what to do. That gets us organized. He's played right back for three years, so it's only logical to put him in the middle as we get into this season. He's not going to score all the goals, but he's going to get his opportunities. We're pretty confident in his ability to help us.”
Added Messiah, “It's been fun. I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help this team win. Whether it's playing forward, in the back, in the midfield, I don't really mind. I just want to do whatever it takes.”
Messiah might find himself playing more defense in the coming weeks, as Westfield (6-0-1, 1-0 Concorde) faces several tough opponents. After defeating the National District's top team in Yorktown, the Bulldogs are scheduled to face Robinson and Herndon on April 21 and 28, respectively, in games that should decide the Concorde District's regular-season champion.
“This is a big stretch,” Messiah said. “The next three Mondays, we have some pretty key games. We're trying to stay as healthy as possible and stay focused. We have game plans on all these teams, so we're just trying to practice how we play and outwork every team.”
While Torres admitted his team's next few games will be difficult, he stopped short of saying they would make or break this season.
“The defining moment will be in the district tournament and then the regional tournament,” he said. “We're concerned with district play first, getting ready for the district tournament and hopefully getting into regionals and doing what we have to do to make things happen.”
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