Girls @ 5:30 p.m today
Tonight, girls soccer plays Mt. Carmel, Westview’s cross-town rival for the first time in 2 years. In the 2021-22 season, they encountered the Sun Devils twice with 5-0 and 2-0 wins.
A key player in tonight’s game will be defensive midfield Layla Salem (11). In the first games of the season, Salem has been a vital team player both in hyping up her team before games and connecting different areas on the field in order to keep the ball moving, and to create opportunities for scoring.
According to Salem, the Sun Devils are fast and aggressive, though Westview has ways to combat this.
“When the ball moves, we move together, using our bodies so we can make a point that we’re not just gonna let them play around us,” Salem said.
Salem said Mt. Carmel tends to hold onto the ball too long, leaving openings for steals. Before each game, Salem gives a run down about what she knows about the opposing team’s playing style.
“For Mt. Carmel, we have a lot of stuff to say because, I wouldn’t necessarily say Mt. Carmel is our team rival because we have beat them, but they are our school’s rival. So, we really want to win that game,” Salem said.
Coach Peter Stogsdill said Salem has done a really good job linking both sides of the field.
“[Salem] does a great job of playing physical, making her presence felt on the field, and winning the ball off the opponent,” Stogsdill said. “When we got the ball, she did a really good job of linking our defense with the attack and linking the right side of the field to the left side.”
Salem says she has high hopes for the team winning against a rival school.
“My hope for the game is that we play like a team and obviously win,” Salem said. “I want to be aggressive and get hype. People should attend because it has always been a healthy rivalry and it will be a good game.”
Boys @ 7 p.m today
Two rivals, whose feud extends back as long as anyone can remember, are preparing for their today’s long-anticipated showdown—a game that will only occur once this season. The boys soccer team has high hopes for their game against Mt. Carmel, and head coach Kevin Ashwell said he believes it will be fun and entertaining.
“It should be a really good game,” Ashwell said. “For a lot of these [players], their high school careers come into play just for this game.”
Many of the Westview players are friends with people on the Mt. Carmel team, which adds a personal element to the rivalry and the game as well. Striker Kyle Vannieuwenhoven (12) said his strategy is to play a team-oriented game that distributes the ball around the field.
“[I’m going to try to] pass the ball and release the ball, creating opportunities for my team [to score],” Vannieuwenhoven said. “[I know] the goalie on that team, so I definitely want to score on him.”
Though the conflict between the schools can cause high energy and unexpected outcomes of certain plays, goalie Jaden Nisperos (12) said there are several strategies the team hopes to utilize in order to keep their composure.
“In games like these, it’s the team who can keep their head the most and stay calm that comes out on top,” Nisperos said. “So that’s something we look to do: staying calm, finding the next pass, keeping possession, and not freaking out on the ball. Another thing we’re looking for is to play quicker touches to get the ball moving quicker because it has to be a lot quicker to face a very aggressive team like Mt. Carmel.”
According to Vannieuwenhoven, the team’s confidence is a crucial factor in their playing abilities, and it allows them to cooperate and form steady offensives. Vanniewenhoven said this strategy will most likely come into play during the game.
Ashwell said the team’s camaraderie positively impacts their games, even though the season began recently with a current win-loss-tie record of 3-2-3.
“I think they back each other up pretty well,” Ashwell said. “They are somewhat a band of brothers. They’ve all been playing together for some time, so when in doubt, they’ll fight for each other, and I think that’s huge.”
