Blazers silence Wolverines

BLAZER STADIUM, SEPT. 4 –

Blair's varsity girls' soccer team triumphed over the Watkins Mill Wolverines 6-0 in their season opener Tuesday night.

Senior captain Lizzie Horne anticipated the victory. "We've always been stronger than Watkins Mill," she said. "We went into the game knowing we would dominate."

The Blazers dictated the pace of the game by controlling the ball, allowing three different Blazers to score, including junior superstar Annie Worden, freshman Saleiha Mayer-Marks and sophomore Darcy Pelz-Butler, who racked up a hat trick on the night.

Twenty minutes into the first half, junior goalie Jenny Williams had seen little action. The Blazer offense had the ball trapped downfield in Wolverine territory, which set Pelz-Butler up to score the first two goals from close range. "I had good assists," she explained. Missed shots by seniors Katie Scott, Barbara Hendrick and freshman Sofie Read – which hit the post – ended the half.

Though they entered the second half with a 2-0 lead, the Blazers were wary of the challenge ahead. "Two to zero is the hardest score to keep," said Horne. "But we got four more goals in the second half."

Worden scored an easy goal on a direct kick after a collision with a Wolverine player. A couple plays later, Pelz-Butler blasted a shot into the far corner to complete her hat trick.

Worden continued her scoring quest with a solid shot from inside the box, weaving through defenders with fierce speed from midfield. With about fifteen minutes remaining, Mayer-Marks showed her potential with a diagonal drive from the right side and a straight shot down middle to finish the scoring at 6-0.

Despite the overwhelming victory, Horne noted a weakness. "We need to be able to put in a few corner kicks," said Horne.

Head coach Bob Gibb agreed, but cherished the win. "I'm not going to be greedy. Six goals is enough of a statement," he pointed out.

Since Watkins Mill has historically been an easy win for Blair, the next few games will really indicate the team's fate for the season. "We're really optimistic about the rest of the season," Horne said.

Gibb was confident of their potential. "We have a lot of speed, and a lot of weapons, and we used them," he said. "We're aggressive, we have a little swagger…We're going to do something special."

The girls' varsity soccer team plays its next home game on Tuesday, Sept. 11 against Richard Montgomery at 7 p.m.