Blair falls to Quince Orchard in semifinals

Nov. 3, QUINCE ORCHARD—

After conquering Damascus and Watkins Mill in the first two rounds of playoffs and then making history as the first girls soccer team at Blair to reach the regional semifinals, the Blazers could not manage to outplay Quince Orchard in the third round. Their 1-0 loss to the Cougars marked the end of a tremendous season for Blair that was characterized by close games, frustrating losses and vengeful victories.

Although the Blazers played with heart and intensity through the final seconds of tonight's game, their determination to win was not enough to overcome the Cougar's quicker, more physical play. Quince Orchard's better organization and smooth transitioning allowed them to gain control early in the game. They began dominating possession in the first few minutes, keeping Blair on the defensive for most of the game. Blair's normally unstoppable defensive line, lead by senior sweeper Sophie Esparza, worked hard to challenge the Cougars' attacks, but did not always manage to keep out their speedy strikers.

As the Cougars continually penetrated Blair's defense, the Blazers poor positioning and lack of continuity on offense prevented them from producing similar scoring chances. Coach Robert Gibb emphasized the importance of seizing each opportunity. "Every minute counts, because you never know when that one chance will come." But Blair's transitioning from the midfield to the forwards was inadequate.

Midfielders failed to distribute the ball effectively to gaps in Quince Orchard's defense, leaving the strikers isolated from the rest of the team. "They got bodies on us, and they bumped us out of our game in the midfield," explained Gibb. Every time the Blazers began to generate some offensive momentum towards the goal, Blair's strikers would hesitate and allow Quince Orchard's defense to clear the ball almost immediately.

At half time neither team had succeeded in netting a goal, and although Quince Orchard had nearly triple the scoring opportunities compared to Blair, it was the Blazers' resilient defense that soldiered through and kept the game scoreless.

In the second half, junior goalie Maggie Sullivan stopped a series of close-calls with numerous outstanding saves, but based on the Cougars' persistence, it seemed only a matter of time before they would score. Quince Orchard's center forward, one of the team's fastest players, had many chances as she continually broke through Blair's defense to find herself in one-on-one situations with the goalie. In the 55th minute, Quince Orchard crossed the ball to the right side of the field and fired a shot from the 6-yard box. Sullivan was forced to dive to knock the ball away in midair and was able to make the save.

About ten minutes later, however, the same QO forward that had been disrupting and out-hustling Blair's defense, lifted a shot into the lower left corner of the goal, just out of Sullivan's reach as she made another desperate dive for the save.

Senior captain Sarah Rumbaugh, who has been contributing as an assistant coach since a torn ACL took her out of her game early in the season, explained why Quince Orchard ended up on top. "They were a physical, faster and more skilled team, and you have to do everything correctly against that type of team. We needed to finish the few chances we had if we wanted to win, which we didn't do." she said. "They took all the chances we gave them, and they benefited from that in the end. Their transitions were so smooth that they were able to catch our defense flat, and a very fast player scored."

This goal brought the score to an ominous 1-0, and the Blazers seemed discouraged, knowing that they would need to have luck on their side in order to turn the score around with less than 15 minutes left.

Unfortunately, Blair had no such luck, even though they battled until the end. The girls walked off the field with their heads hanging, feeling the pain of defeat and realizing that their mission had ended. Rumbaugh put the game perspective while attempting to elevate the girls spirit saying, "We played well and we gave them everything we had, but it just wasn't enough."

It was a disheartening loss for the Blazers, who worked so hard to make it to this point, but Gibb believed that the opportunity in itself to play in the semifinals was an achievement in itself. "We had a great season, and you can't be sorry about that," he said. "I'm proud of the team. This is the farthest a Blair [girls soccer] team has ever gone and that means a lot."

Gibb pointed out that being able to play on the level of Quince Orchard, a team that was ranked top seed in the division and ninth in the Washington-Metropolitan, is yet another accomplishment for the team. "We played right there with them, this is just something that we can build on," he said. "The biggest disappointment is that the season is over, because we played well down the stretch and we really started to come together and gel as a team."

Although Rumbaugh also wishes that they could have advanced further into the playoffs, she is satisfied with the evolution that the team made from a rough regular season to a positive playoff experience. "We're a good team, and I don't think we got the recognition we deserved because our record (7-7-1) doesn't reflect our talent. We never lost a game by more than one point, and so many games carried over into double overtime," she said. "We finally developed into a stronger team and we proved it in the playoffs."

Graduating only three seniors this year, Blair is looking forward to a bright future. The Blazers made monumental progress this season by advancing to semifinals for the first time since Blair's establishment in 1935, which bodes well for next season with so many talented returning players. Esparza, who is sad to be have ended her final season with Blair, wishes her teammates the best of luck and expresses her confidence in their abilities. "Hopefully this is the beginning of a new era for Blair."