Blazers fall to Blake in a closely fought game

In a hard fought and evenly matched game, Blair's girls' lacrosse team lost to the Blake Bengals 13-12. After playing a strong first half, Blair let the Bengals get back into the game and win.

The Blazers attacked the Bengals with a high level of intensity from the get-go. Less than a minute into the game, senior co-captain Mairead Hunter drove down the field, got fouled and scored on an 8-meter shot.

Thirty seconds later, senior co-captain Ariel Wilchek took the ball around the back of the goal and easily put it past the goalie.

Both Hunter and Wilchek were driving forces on Blair's offense, scoring five and two goals, respectively.

Although the Bengals matched Blair's goals with two of their own in the next couple of minutes, Blair's intensity did not waver and by the end of the half, Blair led Blake 8-4.

In the second half, the Blazers started to slip up, making little mistakes. "We got a little sloppy," explains coach Mike Horne, "then they scored a goal. We got down and then they scored another goal."

The Bengals went on a scoring spree in the second half and with a little under six minutes to play, they tied the game at 10.

Senior goalie Anna Benfield faced an onslaught of shots by the Bengal offense and ended the game with 10 saves.

With five and a half minutes remaining, junior Lauren Finkel speed up the left side of the field and shot the ball into the far corner of the net, unassisted. A minute later, Finkel stole the ball at the midfield and scored again, putting the Blazers up by two. Finkel scored a total of four goals.

Blair's lead did not last long. Blake came back to score three more goals and with about two minutes remaining, Blake took its first lead of the game.

Blake played strong despite the fact that two of their starting players were injured in Blake's April 15 game against Springbook. Blake's leading scorer, Senior Jenna Miller, who suffered from a seizure fit at the Springbrook game, still played Saturday and had two goals, one assist. Another one of Blake's starters broke her knee at the Springbrook game.

In the waning minutes of the game, Blair's offense valiantly tried to tie the game but could not capitalize on several scoring opportunities.

Senior co-captain Sarah Robinson, who had two assists, attributes the lowered level of play in the second half to the fact that the team wasn't talking. "We fell apart at the beginning of the second half and stopped communicating," she says. "We got frustrated when things went wrong instead of getting angry and wanting to get it back."

Next, Blair will face Springbrook on the road on April 21 at 7 p.m.