Blazers blanked by Damascus

The Blair girls' varsity field hockey team started off their season on the wrong foot as they suffered a harrowing 7-0 loss against the Damascus Hornets on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The team was unable to generate an offensive attack and was forced to play defense for much of the game.

The Blazers were never in the game as they struggled to get the ball into their offensive end.

However, the defense was able to hold the Damascus attack to only two goals in the first half, but was worn down in the second half allowing five goals. The team had trouble clearing the ball out of the circle and transitioning to offense.

Blair's goalkeeper, junior Jordy Goldstein, had little chance of saving any of Damascus's goals, which often came on weak side tap ins by unmarked players. Damascus was also able to convert on their numerous corner opportunities.

Offense for the Blazers was nearly nonexistent as they only mustered one shot, while Damascus attempted 19 shots. The Blazers were unable to connect on passes and only had a couple of corner attempts.

According to coach Julie Nation there were some signs of potential and she believes that the team showed improvement from last season. "The ball was on our defensive end a lot, but we were getting into the offensive third some, which was better than last year," said Nation.

The team has many new players, so they are still working on communication and positioning according to Nation. Still, the senior captains provide leadership and solid play on the field for the younger players to learn from. Senior captain Julia Penn had a strong game in the midfield, making aggressive runs down the wings and hustling offense and defense. Senior captain Alexa Gabriel was a staunch defender and was able to break up the relentless Damascus attack.

Coach Nation sees conditioning as a weakness for the team. She felt that Damascus wasn't that much more skilled than the Blazers, but just had better conditioning.

Senior captain Rachel Feely-Kohl thinks that the team will play better if they have a winning mentality. "We need to realize we are better than we are playing and play with more confidence and aggression," said Feely-Kohl.

The team looks to learn and improve from the loss in preparation for their next game at Einstein on Monday, Sept. 13 at 7:00 pm.