Blazer boys' soccer fizzles at finish

The boys' varsity soccer team got off to a disappointing start today in a 1-0 overtime loss to Einstein High School. The Blazers failed to play as a team throughout the game, and communication was a problem both on offense and defense.

After dominating regulation play, with more than 25 shots on goal and nearly 90% of the game played on Einstein's half of the field, the Blazers simply failed to finish time and again.

Forwards Franklin Alvarez, Juan Argueta, Justin Craver, Alieu Terry and midfielder Andrew Shoenfeld, all seniors, had multiple shots on goal, but outstanding goaltending by Einstein's keeper, lack of passing in the penalty box and a slew of near-misses kept the boys off the scoreboard.

"We need to start working together a little more," said Coach Adrian Baez. "The flow of the game wasn't there. We were playing individualistic soccer, not Blair soccer."

At the end of regulation, with the score tied at 0-0 and a sudden death overtime looking like Blair's last chance to salvage the game, the Titans won the coin toss to decide which team would defend which goal, and Blair keeper Lincoln Fisher was stuck looking straight into the sun.

Excellent defense from Chris Biggs, Duane Mueller and Thomas Wild, seniors, kept Einstein's attack at bay, but with 37 seconds left in the overtime period, an Einstein player threaded a gap and kicked a ball into the back of the net.

Dejected and shocked, the Blazers slowly walked off the field as the Titans piled on top of their hero-for-the-day. Einstein won despite a late-game ejection of one of their forwards, forcing the Titans to play a man down.

Baez predicted a methodical approach to future strategy, and hoped that his charges would liven up throughout the rest of the season. "We're gonna take it one game at a time. This is a waking up call, it's gonna shake [the Blazer players] into what they need to do."

Baez added that his players needed to work primarily on cohesiveness and finishing off attacks.

The Titans came into today's game having lost every game last year, as the few Einstein supporters in the crowd repeatedly shouted at the end of the contest.