Westfalling Upward: Arizona Rocks Fraser
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| Tyler Westfall (above) had three goals and three assists, but may have had the worst game of the three Westfall brothers. |
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - It seems like there were Westfalls all
over the field for Arizona State.
Well, actually there were.
“We have one in goal, one in the midfield and one in attack,
so we’ve got them up and down the field,” boasted Sun
Devil head coach Chris Malone.
In the first MCLA Division I semifinal at Dick’s Sporting
Goods Park on Friday evening, the trio of brothers gave Simon
Fraser fits as ASU rolled past the Clan, 19-9, to advance to the
national championship game on Saturday evening.
It was Ryan, who patrols the midfield, that gave Fraser the most
issues. Whether it was rolling in on transition or beating a pole
in a six-on-six set, Ryan scored seven goals – two shy
of the tournament single-game record – and dished out an
assist to pace all scorers.
“We’ve seen this stuff all year,” said Malone,
referring to both Ryan’s play and the tactics that Simon
Fraser attempted to slow him down.
“He’s strong with the ball and he can finish,”
said Simon Fraser co-head coach Brent Hoskins. “We struggled
on our ride because [Ryan] Westfall and Anthony LaFlam were getting
in behind our ride and they were able to transition their
attack.”
“We just kind of took what they gave us,” said Ryan.
“We knew that they were going to pressure out, but it was a
slick surface, so it worked out for the best.”
The youngest of the Westfall clan, Dylan, was also a key to the Sun
Devils’ success. A rookie goaltender, Dylan made 18 stops,
consistently blunting the Clansmen’s attack with timely saves
and then dishing off quick outlets to spark the deadly Devil
transition.
“He’s a great goaltender – me and Tyler have
grown up shooting on him,” said Ryan of Dylan.
“It’s important for him to get the first couple of
saves, but after that, watch out. He’ll pretty much stop all
of them then.”
“He played very well; with a lot of passion and a lot of
desire,” said Malone. “For the most part they were
limited to 15-yard shots, and Dylan can handle those.”
It was the oldest Westfall, Tyler, who had the most pedestrian
outing – all he had was three goals and three assists
to help in the rout. The brothers, along with LaFlam, who
scored five goals out of the midfield for the Sun Devils, kept
Simon Fraser on its heels the entire game.
ASU raced out to a 6-2 lead early in the second quarter and by
midway through the third it was 12-6 after Ryan Westfall scored his
sixth. Although Adam Foss and Russell Thomas each managed to score
four goals and Ben Towner added two markers and two helpers for
Fraser, the final result was never in question.
“We know they are very good and very well coached; we knew
what to expect,” said Hoskins of the Sun Devils. “We
also knew we had to have a high level of execution and,
unfortunately, that wasn’t there. We came out a little flat
and we had some break downs that led to goals. Then a little panic
set in, unfortunately.”
It’s easy to get a little panicky, especially when every
where you turn you find a Westfall.
