Blair lacrosse wins first playoff game

On Wednesday, May 11, the Blair boys’ varsity lacrosse team (6-2) came out on top over the  Paint Branch Panthers (5-9) with a score of 9-2. Despite Paint Branch’s passionate effort, Blair maintained their dominance for a majority of the game. 

Paint Branch won the first faceoff and immediately took a shot, but it was saved by Blair goalie junior Xavier Eiff-Waters. After Paint Branch received a slashing penalty, Blair regained possession and kept the ball at Paint Branch’s goal. Blair junior Boston Stofa put up the first point on the board about five minutes into the quarter. 

After Stofa won the following faceoff, Paint Branch took back possession and tried to match  Blair’s first goal. Their futile effort was met with strong Blazer defense and Blair soon scored a second goal. The ball was intercepted by Paint Branch and they circled Blair’s goal for a while, but after several incomplete passes Blair was able to steal the ball and take it back to the Paint Branch goal. The quarter ended with a score of 3-0.

Blair won the faceoff that started the second quarter and spent the first few minutes on defense. After losing two players to penalties, Paint Branch found themselves at a disadvantage; Stofa took advantage of their weakness and scored another goal. Once their players returned, Paint Branch scored their first goal of the night. The score going into halftime was 5-1. 

In the third quarter, senior Josh Grossman scored his third goal of the night. Paint Branch won the following faceoff, but senior Michael Dinkel quickly knocked the ball away. Grossman ran the ball all the way over to the goal but fumbled when a Paint branch player tripped him, resulting in another penalty for Paint Branch.

Blair gradually increased their lead throughout the quarter. Paint Branch surrounded Blair’s goal in the final seconds of the quarter, but was unable to make any shots, ending the quarter with a score 8-1.

Paint Branch started the final quarter at Blair’s goal, but Blair’s defense refused to let them past. For the majority of the quarter, Blair kept the ball on Paint Branch’s side of the field, but ultimately only made one shot. Paint Branch continued their penalty streak, putting them at an even greater disadvantage.

With one minute left, Paint Branch made a last ditch effort to make a goal, but was unsuccessful. The final score was 9-2. 

Freshman Weston Paschane felt the game was one of their best so far and has hope for the next playoff game against Sherwood. “We played probably our best game yet. We’re going against a team that we lost 21-1 the last time we played, but we’re going to win. We’re the underdogs in our next game, but we definitely have a chance for an upset,” Paschane said. 

The Blazers will play their next playoff game on Friday, May 13 at Sherwood High School against the Warriors.