Blazers defeated in sudden death overtime

May 3, Blair-

On senior night the Magruder Colonels needed all of regulation, six minutes of overtime and three minutes of sudden death to beat the Blair Blazers varsity girls' lacrosse team 8-7. In a game that could've gone either way at the end, Magruder got a penalty shot after time in the first sudden-death period had expired and buried the shot.

The Blazers started slowly and were down 4-0 early in the second half. However, the Blazers would come to life and crawl their way back forcing overtime with a last minute goal by senior Alexa Gabriel to tie the game. In overtime the Blazers scored first but Magruder was able to answer and then scored in sudden death. The Blazers record drops to 4-6 on the season with the loss.

Blair improved their shooting and play in the midfield to spur their comeback. The attack and midfield pestered the Magruder defense on clears and were able to convert on their scoring opportunities. However, the Blazers struggled to stop Magruder's Cecilia Leinbauch who had six goals on the game, most of which were unassisted drives to goal.

In the first half the Blazers struggled on offense as they forced passes and were off target with their shots. Several times the Blazers had open shots but hit the goalkeeper in the stick. Still, the Magruder goalkeeper played well throughout the game, which frustrated the Blair attack. Magruder scored in the first few minutes and then would score again at the 18-minute mark. After that the defensive would play strong and senior goalkeeper Betsy Costillo made several saves.

The second half began in the same fashion for the Blazers as Magruder scored two more unanswered goals to extend their lead to four. Sophomore Jessica Hallberlin would get the Blazers on the scoreboard with her goal off an assist by senior co-captain Erica Nowak. Junior Diana Frey would score on an unassisted drive to cut the Magruder lead in half. Magruder would score again to extend their lead to three with about 18 minutes left in the game.

With around seven minutes left in the game the Blazers played with a sense of urgency and provided some late game heroics. Senior co-captain Lauren Finkel started a three goal Blair scoring streak after she intercepted a pass deep in the Magruder zone and ran in for a shot. Gabriel would score 30 seconds later when she scooped up a rebound and put the ball past the Magruder goalie. After a good transition set up by the defense, Finkel passed the ball to junior Maddie Driskill who buried her shot to tie the game at five. After senior defender Vicky Dean got a yellow card, Magruder scored with less than two minutes to go. However, Blair wasn't fazed as they got the ball back on offense. With 34 seconds left Gabriel had a penalty shot and slotted the ball right next to the post past the springing goalie.

In the first three-minute overtime period the teams traded possessions before Finkel scored on a penalty shot to give the Blazers a 7-6 lead. Blair played solid defense including a save by Costillo.

In the second overtime Magruder would tie the game at 7-7, despite the tough play of the defense. Leinbauch scored her sixth goal for Magruder after being awarded a penalty shot, despite being stopped by Dean and senior Christina Ji several times.

After a bit of confusion between the referees and the coaches on what should happen next, the game entered the first of two three-minute sudden-death periods. Blair got the first possession but turned the ball over. Magruder then transitioned, but Dean checked the ball away and got the ball back to Finkel on offense. However, Blair would fail to score. In the waning seconds Magruder was given a penalty shot and scored.

The Blazers showed heart in their dramatic comeback and the game could have gone either way in the end. In their final home game the seniors played a solid game. Finkel continued to lead Blair offensively as she had two goals and one assist; Gabriel also had an excellent game with two goals. Nowak finished with one assist but was vital in organizing the Blair offense and had many clutch groundballs. The defense played well behind the leadership of the seniors Ji, Dean and Costillo. Junior Julie Spatz was also a force in the back. Driskill had one goal and was excellent in the midfield, along with Frey who had one goal.

The Blazers will next go to Churchill at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 5.