By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area
*Click the photo and video links above the video player at the top left for full game coverage.
The only things that kept Bulldog senior Irvin Herrera from a hat trick on Monday night were a flag, a post and his own teammate.
The potent striker scored twice in the first 15 minutes to pace Westfield to a 5-2 road win over McLean in brisk conditions — and he showed signs that a third goal was imminent.
But an offside call negated a 39th-minute score and the goalpost denied another in the second half after Herrera had slipped by the goalkeeper on a breakaway.
Then, in the 68th minute, a partially-saved shot by Herrera was bobbling on the ground across the goal line when Bulldog senior Jack Rafferty blasted it home with a Highlander defending sliding in.
Herrera thought the hat trick was his — for a moment.
“I was celebrating already and I heard everybody scream after I had celebrated,” he said. “Then I asked one of my players, ‘Who got that goal?’ And they said it was Jack.
“I thought I had the hat trick. I was just like, ‘Wow.'”
The Westfield attack had the back four of McLean — and that of every other opponent before it — admitting similar bewilderment.
Through four games, the Bulldogs have four wins and have scored 20 goals — five per game — while yielding only six total. And that from a unit that graduated 16 players from last year’s club, which reached the Northern Region semifinals.
“After losing eight starters last year, I think we came out at the beginning of the season pretty strong,” said Herrera, who patrolled the front line alongside senior Sean Murnane, who returned to Westfield from Herndon this year. “The whole team was a new team. We didn’t think we were going to do that great, but we actually did.”
Added second-year McLean coach Mike Anderson: “They have three kids who are just top flight, Division I players. It’s a great lesson for our guys: Three top-quality kids like that will punish you if you make a mistake.”
But the Highlanders doled out their fair share punishment, too.
In front of its freshman goalkeeper Robby Maffei, inserted due to the starting keeper’s ineligibility until April 11, McLean kept pace with the Westfield barrage, staying within one goal at 3-2 for 21 minutes in the second half until the Bulldogs pulled away on counterattacks.
The Highlanders scored on a pair of set pieces, a volley by senior captain Sam Radelet from a corner kick in the 30th minute and a header by Radelet off a throw-in in the 47th.
Ironically, last year, it was the McLean set-piece defense that served as the all-too-common downfall in Anderson’s inaugural season.
“We had a hard time with that last year,” said Anderson, whose squad was 4-8-2 in 2008. “Now, it’s completely the reverse. We struggled in the center back spots. That was exactly the problem we didn’t have last year.
“The problem was 17 of the 23 goals scored against us last year were off set pieces. This year, it’s only one of the nine.”
Added Westfield coach Tom Torres, who is 58-17-10 in five seasons at the school: “We knew going into the game — we had it on our locker room board — they scored two of their goals against Fairfax on set pieces. So we knew they were going to have some good ones.”
Now, for the unbeaten Bulldogs, the focus shifts to Thursday night. Westfield hosts defending state runner-up — and nationally-ranked — Robinson in the first Concorde District game for either team.
And, provided Robinson can get by former district-rival Lake Braddock on Tuesday, both the Bulldogs and Rams will enter the heralded match-up undefeated in what may prove a preview for the district, region and state championship games.
“We absolutely talked about that in the locker room, that if we start thinking about Robinson, McLean would hurt us tonight,” said Torres of his team’s game-by-game focus. “I think the boys have that mentality. We’re still trying to make sure they understand we haven’t won anything.
“We’re still playing games and playoffs don’t come until May.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
Westfield (4-0-0) 3 2 — 5
McLean (2-2-0) 1 1 — 2
Goals:
WF — Herrera (6)
WF — Herrera (15)
MC — Radelet (30)
WF — Murnane (35)
MC — Radelet (47)
WF — Rafferty (68)
WF — Fortier (80)
Processing your request, Please wait....
