Blazers cruise to easy win

SEPT 20, BLAZER STADIUM—

In a substantial victory over Richard Montgomery, Blair JV boys' soccer team scored eleven goals for the win.

Richard Montgomery took possession at the start the game, but quickly lost control of the tempo. They spent most of their time on defense trying to block shots on their goal. Blair's offense played hard and came away with seven goals by half time. Sophomore forward Yedonka Lamboni scored once before half time, but would account for three of the last four Blair goals.

In the second half, freshman forward Prince Momo replaced sophomore Matias Salina, who had a minor injury. Momo contributed substantially to the offensive effort and was responsible for two goals in the game.

The numerous goals in the first half were the resulted from a constant attack from Blair's offensive starting lineup, which took over twenty shots in the game.

Coach John Haigh forced his team to take on a defensive strategy near the start of the second half, which allowed the consistent and reliable sophomore defender, Alec McLean, to shine.

Nonetheless, the ball remained on Richard Montgomery's side for the majority of the second half, rarely giving Richard Montgomery's defense a rest. Coach Haigh blamed an inappropriate strategy for Richard Montgomery's poor defensive performance. "The other team [tried] an off-sides trap, but they don't have the foot speed for that kind of defense," Haigh said.

In a play that defined the tone of the entire game, sophomore mid-field Josh Brown and forward Momo broke away from the Richard Montgomery defenders and proceeded to overpower the opposing goalie. Richard Montgomery's goalie watched from the ground as the ball slowly rolled into his goal.

This game was a stark contrast to earlier efforts against Whitman and Wooten High School. Both of the previous game were low scoring and filled with unnecessary errors on both sides of the field. This game highlighted an offense that had not yet lived up to its potential. This game showed increased ball control, as well as more accurate passing and shooting from Blair's offense.

Haigh did not necessarily consider this incredible victory a prophet of things to come. "I don't think we can base this game off of anything," he said. After the game Haigh continued to prepare his team, saying that the next game would be against Magruder, a "tough" team to beat.

JV soccer's next game is at Magruder High School on Sept. 22 at 3:30.