WESTFIELD – After posting a 13-5 regular season finish among some of the region’s best teams and capturing the Kurty-Fielding Division with a record of 8-2, it appeared the Westfield High School girls soccer team had been snubbed.
“They had us as the sixth seed,” said Westfield coach Keith Saltmarsh, whose team initially faced the prospect of playing a road game after all their hard work in Division 1 after tournament pairings were announced recently.
For some it was a mockery of sorts. Others likely cried foul.
KURTY-FIELDING DIVISION WINNERS
Westfield Bombers
After clearer heads prevailed, it was revealed that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association had made a simple error – utilizing just one piece of the Walker System puzzle rather than adding up the sum of all its parts (record vs. tournament teams, win percentage, strength of schedule).
The error was quickly corrected though, and after the tournament field was released the second time around, Westfield’s correct seed, number four, pitted them against No. 5 Chicopee Comprehensive (10-6-2) at home at Bullens Field Tuesday at 6 p.m.
“What’s right is right,” said Saltmarsh, who was pleased with the correction but admitted a tough matchup still ahead.
The two teams split the regular season series 1-1.
“Comp is very competitive, very physical,” Saltmarsh explained, noting his team’s willingness to change strategy against them on more than one occasion. “We should be ready to go.”
Westfield returned to the postseason after a lengthy absence in large part to an infusion of young talent from the National Premier League, and some savvy upperclassmen.
“These kids have put in a lot of work in a very competitive league,” Saltmarsh said. “We’ve had a lot of close battles and come-from-behinds. The girls really dug deep.”
If they can dig in for one more week, a much bigger prize looms.
