Blair defeats defending state champions WJ, 2-1

Blazer Stadium, September 21

Walter Johnson High School's boys soccer team are the defending state
champions. They tied Whitman High School this season, a team currently ranked fifth in the nation. They are, without a doubt, a powerhouse. And the Blazers beat them in thrilling overtime, 2-1, at Blazer Stadium. In their biggest game of the season, every facet of the Blair's game glimmered.

Numerous players had the game of their high school career tonight. Senior William Zepeda was excellent. A defender by position, he routinely stole the ball, but any player can tell you how important he was to the Blazer offense. Senior goalkeeper Eliot Stein was fantastic as usual, but tonight he seemed to exude a certain special poise, keeping his team in the game with seemingly effortless saves. Junior Alieu Terry was an offensive presence, maybe the offensive presence, and he scored the team's game-winning goal.

"We needed to be the aggressors," Coach Adrian Baez said. He explained that the team was never scared by Walter Johnson, their record, or their skill.

The game was characterized by unceasingly breakneck play. Walter Johnson and Blair did their best not to relent an inch to each other. Walter Johnson complained a good deal to the referee's, and that probably helped the Blazers get away with some obvious fouls. Collisions and tumbles between opposing players were rampant. It was physical; yellow cards were drawn against junior Andrew Schoenfeld and Terry.

The first goal of the game came was a beauty of a play. The offense, which had made no progress until then, started to move down the field. Terry had the ball, and carefully pushed it past the man marking him to an open Blair forward, who scored easily. Walter Johnson tied it up at the end of the first half.

The second half was a frenzied, pell-mell affair. Blair's defense did the lion's share of the work, and the pressure was truly on for both teams. As the half drew to a close, the crowd, by far the largest this season for a boys soccer game, grew restless.

A few minutes into overtime, Terry got the ball slightly past midfield. He dribbled it right by hapless defenders, and put it forcefully in the right hand corner of the goal. The stands erupted in cheers; many fans rushed the field. The amazing thing about Terry's score was that it felt as if the whole crowd knew the ball was destined for the goal.

"This was probably our biggest game in two years," Terry said. "We knew we had the ability to beat them." Terry emphasized the most important part of Blair's game was their "heart."