Blazers narrowly beat the Titans

For the first 12 minutes of play in the varsity Boys Lacrosse game on April 6, the match remained scoreless. Both the Blazers and their Einstein opponents had trouble capitalizing on their offensive opportunities. However the second quarter saw a surge in Blazer play as they pulled ahead to lead 3-1 in the half and set the tone for a game in which they emerged victorious 4-3 over the Titans.

The Blazers expected an easy win over the historically sloppy, inconsistent Titan squad. Head coach Robert Gibb believed that the Blazers scraped by with a narrow win for a number of reasons, one of which was the heat. "The sudden going from winter to summer had an effect on the team," said Gibb adding that he felt the toll the heat took on the players became especially evident in the second half. "In the first half we dominated the game," said Gibb. "In the second half, we slipped."

Blair outscored Einstein 3-1 in the first half with all three goals coming in the second quarter. Senior co-captain Justin Hoy sparked the offense just 36 seconds into the first half with a powerful corner shot. Einstein answered back with 3:48 left in the half. Less than a minute later senior co-captain Andrew Beach scored with an assist from junior Tyler Wilchek. The last goal of the first quarter came when senior Phuson Hulamm won the draw and drove into the goal with a hard shot.

The Blazers final goal of the game came from sophomore Nick Mozer off an assist from junior Josh Henkai in the second half.

Gibb believes that the boys could have easily had more goals considering the ball was in their offensive territory for much of the game. "We created a lot of opportunities," Gibb explained, "We just didn't put the ball in the net."

The defensive prowess of the Blair squad was evident in the match up despite the inconsistent performance on offense. Gibb cited his defensive block of senior co-captain Andrew Helgeson in the net, senior co-captain Erik Kojola, senior Nathan Barrymore and junior Ian Proctor as a dominating force in the game. "You allow a team three goals in a game and you've done a good job," Gibb said of the solid team defense.

Overall Gibb was satisfied with the team's performance yet he also recognizes that more work has to be done to get the Blazers up to a level competitive with the rest of the county. "I'm happy with the win, but we need to play better," he said.

The Blazers next take on Watkins Mill in their house on Saturday April 9 at 12:00 p.m.