Blazers can't get past Wildcats

Walter Johnson, May 16

The Blair Blazers girls' varsity lacrosse team saw their season come to an end in the second round of the playoffs as they lost 10- 6 against the Walter Johnson Wildcats, putting Blair's final record at 5-9.

The game was originally schedule for Saturday evening but lightning delayed and finally postponed the game until Monday. The Blazers did get in about 14 minutes of the game on Saturday in which they went down 5-1 before it was cancelled. On Monday the Blazers were revitalized and kept the game close.

The Blazers played well against a talented and top-seeded Walter Johnson team. The Wildcats were never able to pull away as the Blazers kept the score within four goals. Blair improved in all areas of the game, but couldn't dig out of the early hole.

Walter Johnson struck first with an early goal. However, Blair would answer when defender Christina Ji assisted midfielder Maddie Driskill for a goal. Blair would control possession, but was unable to get open looks on goal. Meanwhile, Walter Johnson took advantage of their possessions and scored four unanswered goals. The Blair defense left Walter Johnson attackers open in front of the goal and struggled with communication. However, after the lightning flared up again the game was postponed until Monday.

The Blazers had plenty of time to think about the game and had a team meeting during the weather delay to refocus their efforts. On Monday the Blazers came out on top of their game and matched Walter Johnson's scoring, with both teams scoring five goals.

Both teams would score a goal before halftime making the score 6-2. In the second half the Blazers would keep the game close by matching Walter Johnson's offensive output. Walter Johnson extended their lead to 9-3, but Blair responded with two straight goals to reduce the deficit to four goals. Despite their improved play the Blazers were unable to comeback.

Driskill and senior co-captain Erica Nowak led the Blazers offensively as they scored three goals a piece to combine for all of Blair's six goals. Senior co-captain Lauren Finkel also contributed two assists.

Blair's defense also stepped up and limited Walter Johnson to only five goals in the last 36 minutes of the game. The defense collapsed on Wildcat attackers and improved on communication. Seniors Ji and Vicky Dean continued to be essential in transition.