Blazers take down Rams

In a hard-fought game, the Blazers (2-1) defeated the Rockville Rams (0-3) 12-10. Although Blair started out strong with two goals in the first two possessions, Rockville kept the game close, gaining the upper hand at several points in the game. Despite tying Blair towards the end of the game, the Rams' efforts were not enough to stop the Blazers.

Blair set the tempo from the beginning of the game, with junior midfielder Elizabeth Cove winning the draw, and Cove and junior attacker Claudia Burlinson scoring two quick goals. After a few minutes of playing defense, however, the Rams switched to the offensive. Several minutes of quick changes in possession resulted in two Rockville goals to tie up the game. Another Blair goal, this time off of an attack from junior Ellie Burlinson which led to a loose ball in front of the goal that junior Isabel Fetter pushed in, was quickly countered by Rockville, as well.

Several minutes and possessions later, senior captain and midfielder Maddie Boyer got the ball around the middle of the field and headed down the field. After heading towards the goal once, then circling around it, Boyer shot and scored. The last goal of the half also came from Boyer, who received a pass and attacked the goal, finding the back of the net with her shot. The Blazers headed into halftime winning 5-3.

Rockville started off the second half strong. A few minutes into the half, the Rams scored, then they scored again off of a penalty. Several possessions later, they got a breakaway and scored the third goal of the half, putting them ahead by one point.

After a timeout, Fetter got the Blazers back on the offensive with the Blazers' first goal of the half, then Cove soon followed that up with another goal off of a pass from Boyer. Fetter scored two more goals, and Rockville scored one. The ball continued to go back and forth between both teams and both sides of the field. Against tough defense, Claudia Burlinson charged towards the goal and took a shot that went in.

With the pressure on them the Rams went on another scoring streak and scored three goals in relatively quick succession and got back in the game.

Heading into the end of the game, the Blazers and the Rams were tied up, 10-10. Claudia Burlinson put the Blazers ahead with a goal off of a penalty, and Fetter scored her fifth goal of the game to give the Blazers a two point lead. Good defending and important saves from senior captain goalkeeper Schuyler Cross kept Blair ahead and gave the Blazers the edge they needed to win the game.

Assistant Coach Diana Frey was pleased with the Blazers' performance. She believed that the team came out strong against the Rams, and although both teams fought hard to win, Blair's teamwork and focus. "We had a lot of assists this game and everyone contributed and stayed composed,” Frey said.

The win felt especially good for Blair after a hard loss to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School before spring break and because the Rams beat Blair last year. "We were frustrated with our last game going into spring break, we had a big loss and they had some time to think about it,” Frey said.

Fetter agreed that the Blazers' good passing and aggressive playing was key to their win. She was especially glad that Blair won almost all of the draws, which the team worked on in practice the day before.

She also believed that the Rams' zone defense made it easier for the Blazers to penetrate and get close to Rockville's goal. "They had a zone defense so we were able to attack that seam and get a lot of shots in,” Fetter said.

Going into the rest of the season, the Blazers will continue to work hard, and will especially need to focus on not getting rattled by opponents. "If we keep focusing on what we do well regardless of who we're playing we will really excel,” Frey said.

Editor's Note: Elizabeth Cove is a member of Silver Chips Print business staff.

The next home girls' lacrosse game is on April 15 against Kennedy