Blazers clash with Blue Devils

OCT. 4, BLAZER STADIUM—

By half time, the air was tense. The boys' varsity soccer team and the opposing Blue Devils of Springbrook came off the field tied at 0-0 and slightly dispirited. By the time the 80 minutes of regulation play had ended, the air was still tense, but the Blazers were no longer on the edge of anger: They were infuriated. A three-goal run by Springbrook in the second half along with almost uncontrollable fouling on the field cost the Blazers another game, dropping their record to 2-3-1 for the season.

In the first half of play, the Blazers dominated; they kept the ball in their offensive end for much of the half but were unable to score. The second half saw a reversal as the Blazer defense struggled, and at three times failed, to keep the speedy and aggressive Blue Devils at bay. As coach Adrian Baez said, "It is disappointing to play like that in the first half and not win."

The game turned nasty in the midfield as the refs handed out a total of six cards in the game, four yellow cards and two red cards. The Blazers received one yellow card in the first half of play and the Blue Devils received 3 yellows over the course of the game. Senior defender and co-captain Yenika Fon and Springbrook's William Kouadio each received red cards after an on-field fight.

Baez pins tonight's loss to the change in pace between the first and second halves and to the inconsistency of the Blazer offense. "We were doing really well, we were controlling the game in the first half," he said, "but we are constantly in search of scorers."

The Blazers travel to Watkins Mill on Wednesday, Oct. 6, hungry for a win after tonight's loss. The game will be played at 7:00 p.m.