Two Early Goals Carry Westlake to the Class B Championship

By Andy Jacobs

Head coach Joe Callagy had an inkling a day like this past Saturday might be in the cards for his Westlake boys’ soccer team a few years back when he started to see some of the things his young players could do on the field.

“We realized what this team was capable of three years ago,” he was saying late Saturday afternoon, “when I had this group of seniors as sophomores. That’s the point when I knew that this particular season could be really special. And it’s really just been about building up to that point.”

Only moments before, Callagy had been on the receiving end of a Gatorade shower from his giddy players after time had expired in their thrilling 2-1 victory over top-seeded Irvington in the Section One, Class B championship game at Lakeland High School.

Westlake star Gianluca Ruggiero’s two goals early in the game provided a quick advantage before goalkeeper Francesco Michilli and the rest of the defense stepped up to protect it the rest of the way as the Wildcats, now 18-1 in this memorable season, earned the first sectional title in the school’s history.

“Oh my gosh, it’s unreal,” said Ruggiero shortly after he and his teammates had received their championship medals and the coveted plaque they had been dreaming of for years. “This is the third-ever appearance. We lost back to back (2005 and 2006), and the third time’s the charm. First-ever in school history.”

It was Ruggiero, the 5-foot-8 dynamo, who put the Wildcats on the scoreboard not long after the contest began. Like a blur just over four minutes in, he ran past Bulldog defender Charlie Miles before getting taken down in the box. Awarded a penalty kick, he easily deposited the ball on the far side past keeper Liam Sawian.

Less than seven minutes later, the Wildcats’ Luca Mulhare deftly stepped in front of a Bulldog pass near midfield, then sent a perfect lead pass ahead to the streaking Ruggiero, who settled the ball to the turf with his head and in full stride right-footed a shot past the diving Sawian to give Westlake a 2-0 lead with 29:40 still remaining in the opening half.

“One on one with the goalie,” said Ruggiero. “Just aim for the net and then hope for the best.”

“We knew then that it was far from over, but just to have that advantage from the start and then go from there, I mean, he’s done that all season, just putting the pressure on other teams’ defenses, and he’s been huge,” said Callagy about Ruggiero, who also provided a pair of goals in the Wildcats’ semifinal win over Bronxville three days earlier.

The Bulldogs managed to counter with a goal from Isaiah Boyles just three and a half minutes after Ruggiero’s second, trimming the lead in half and creating drama that never ceased the rest of the afternoon. The tension intensified even more when Mulhare was red-carded with 14:09 left in the game, forcing the Wildcats to finish up the pressure-packed game short-handed.

But Michilli was seemingly everywhere, time and again beating the Bulldogs to the ball on scoring chances and winding up flat on the turf with it as precious time ticked off the clock. His final save, when Boyles came dangerously close to tying the score, came with 75 seconds to go.

“What he did really well in that second half was just winning those 50-50s and coming out of the box and being aggressive,” said Callagy. “He’s been starting for three years and it’s just the culmination of a lot of hard work and attention to detail.”

That culmination for all the Wildcats now has them poised to play a state regional playoff game on Wednesday afternoon against Section Nine champ Marlboro at Middletown High School. Ruggiero, for one, is chomping at the bit to see what the next chapter holds for the Wildcats.

“Oh, I can’t wait,” he said. “Can’t wait. Looking forward to it.”

So too is Callagy, whose fourth season at the Westlake helm will now last a while longer.

“Yeah, another two days of practice and then we’ve got another game to prepare for,” he said while admitting he knew nothing at the moment about the upcoming foe from Ulster County.

“We were getting to this point first, and we’ll worry about the rest going forward.”

For the Westlake soccer program, that’s quite a unique experience.