Boys soccer: undefeated no longer

The boys soccer team may not have come away from their game against Whitman High school on Oct 9 at Blazer Stadium undefeated, but they continued to show they are a team very much on the rise. The Blazers were extremely competitive with the nationally ranked team, validating their "sleeping giant" status in a dramatic 1-0 loss.

The Blazers always seem to get the very best from their defense. They were led in the Whitman game, as they are in every game, by senior defender Zack Palmer and goalkeeper Eliot Stein. Palmer was excellent, and he kept the frenzied Whitman forwards at bay throughout, punting away every dangerous ball he could, slowing down the opposing offense and keeping it in check. Stein, for his part, seemed to be in complete control until the very end of the game. His saves were consistent; most every shot was met with controlled containment.

Blair's offense, for its part, tried to create chances for itself, but the Whitman defense was exceptionally stingy. Junior midfielder Alieu Terry and senior midfielder Samson Geeplah had fantastic games, pushing the ball up the field every opportunity they could. Blair had to commit many of their players to defense because of the potency of the Whitman offense. This greatly limited Blair's ability to score.

Whitman controlled the first half recognizably. Blair was not able to keep the ball off their side of the field. The Blazers weathered the Whitman attack, and in the second half started to initiate their own. The shift in the balance of the game was notable. The play was furious, and fouling was rampant. The officials were downright awful in the first half and most of the second, missing calls on both sides of the ball and allowing borderline fouls throughout the game.

The Blazers best chance came during the final minute of play. The Blazers committed themselves entirely to scoring, and executed two great shots on goal. The tension was palpable in the huge crowd, comprised mostly of Blair students. The Blazers missed their chances, and Whitman seized the opportunity. Whitman rushed the ball down the field, with more players on offense than the Blazers had on defense. With a series of brilliant passes, a Whitman forward had the ball, relatively undefended, and kicked it into the right corner of the net. There was nothing Stein could do. What made the goal particularly painful to watch was that the Blazers were only seconds before breathtakingly close to scoring. After the well-matched play, the crowd expected the game to at least go into overtime.

Though they lost, Blair Coach Adrian Baez was extremely pleased with his team's effort. "I'm satisfied. We played at the level of a nationally ranked team," Baez said.