Blazers reign in Rockets

SEPT 16, BLAZER STADIUM-

After struggling on offense throughout much of tonight's game against Richard Montgomery (RM), the Blazers put on a spectacular rally to close out regulation 1-1. Two overtimes later, however, the Blazers had again failed to capitalize and the game ended in a tie. The girls' record is now at 0-2-1.

Throughout the first half and much of the second, Richard Montgomery simply outplayed the Blazers on the Rockets' half. Blair communicated poorly again and rushed passes and plays, kicking the ball to empty space or to RM defenders. However, down 1-0 with 30 seconds left to play, a sense of urgency visibly overtook the Blazers and the team attacked as it hasn't all season. Finally, with 13 seconds to go, sophomore Cate Rassman netted a rebound. The stands and Blazer bench exploded with cheers.

"That's one of the hallmarks of this team: that they never give up," said Coach Robert Gibb, lauding his players for their resolve at the end of regulation.

While the girls were still clearly uncoordinated, they showed improvement in that category. The Blazers had several nice breaks and threaded passes to each other in the midfield, important aspects of the game that had been missing in their losses to Wootton and Whitman. Blair again had trouble finishing, though this can partially be attributed to the extraordinary speed of the RM backs.

The first overtime was played to a dead tie, but the Blazers took over in the second OT, stringing together three corner kicks in a row and dominating posession of the ball. However, the girls could not capitalize and ended the game disappointed.

An optimistic Gibb said after the game that the team would be practicing harder in the near future, focusing particularly on speed and endurance. "You want to win every game," he said, "but [early season games] are really about preparing for the playoffs and reminding us that we have work."

The girls next play at Wheaton on Sept 18 at 7:00.