Cavaliers slip past boys' lax

MAY 4, BLAZER STADIUM—

At senior night for the Blair boys' lacrosse team, players and fans alike were pumped and ready for a win. But the undeniable shooting and passing efficiency of the Kennedy Cavaliers left Blazers wondering what happened, when the game ended with a score of 6-5.

The Blazers started out slow. Overwhelmed by a constant flow of messy turnovers, the boys repeatedly handed over possession to the Cavaliers. At the start of the first quarter, the Blair defense tried to create a solid barrier between the Kennedy players and the goal, but the Blazers couldn't maintain possession long enough to clear the ball. The Cavaliers quickly penetrated the Blazers' defense and they quickly took a 1-0 lead two minutes in. Three minutes later, the second goal was scored on Blair, and the Blazers began to fall apart.

With nine minutes left in the half, sophomore Andy Holmes made a fast break down the field past several Kennedy offenders, and passed the ball to sophomore Mike Mozer directly in front of the net, who blasted a powerful shot right over the goalie to put Blair on the scoreboard. Though the boys' energy was back up, they were hurt by poor passing and transitions. Late in the half, a Kennedy attacker beat Blazers to the ball on a fast break and was charging towards the goal. The Blair defense had dispersed, leaving senior Robbie Ginsberg alone to defend the net, leading to the Cavaliers' third goal and an even more dispirited Blazer squad going into halftime.

The team seemed to rally during the third quarter, and in an impressive display of coordination, the offensive players passed the ball amongst themselves until senior Matt McClain had a clear shot and launched the ball into the Cavaliers' net. However the Cavaliers quickly got back on their horses and scored another two goals in a span of the next three minutes. The Blazers were frequently unable to set up successful plays and rarely took shots when they had the chance. The Cavaliers took advantage of this lapse in Blazer energy to make use of their quick passes and well-executed plays and to take over the game.

With 2:05 left in the game, senior Matt McClain dashed toward the Kenned goal, spun right, feinted left and fired a shot from 5 yards out. As the ball soared past the Kennedy goalie and into the back of the net, the Blair team knew they had only minutes to take control of the game for a win. McClain's goal was the Blazers' fifth of the night, but as the clock ticked on, the Kennedy Cavaliers stood their ground, preventing any more Blazer goals and the buzzer sounded with a frustrating score of 6-5. "We started out flat, but we finally found something in the last seven minutes," McClain commented, adding, "We did everything we could, and they out-shot us."