Einstein's genius fails against girls' lacrosse

APR 2, EINSTEIN HIGH SCHOOL—

Seven Blazers scored in Blair's easy win over Einstein High School on Apr 2, when Blair trounced the Titans 17-2.

Senior Robin Zhao and juniors Beth Gula and Ariel Wilchek each scored four goals in the win. Many younger players stepped up as Blair dominated the game and the team showed vast improvement from its 11-3 loss to Springbrook High School on Mar 31.

Einstein struck first 43 seconds into the game with a beautiful end-to-end run, earning the team's first lead of the year. But the lead lasted mere seconds as Gula responded with two almost identical goals that started with a dodge from up top.

Zhao then put the Blazers up 3-1 when she shook her defender, dodged the double and triple teams and scored with a perfect backhand shot. A foul shot gave the Titans their last goal of the night as the Blazers went on to score 14 unanswered goals.

With his team up 11-2 at the half, fifth-year head coach Mike Horne had the opportunity to tweak the style of offense and give his younger talent valuable game experience. The Blazers shut out the Titans 6-0 in the second half.

Depth proved to be crucial for the inexperienced Titans, who had few options on offense. Communication on defense, something the Blazers struggled with during the Springbrook game, was impeccable on Apr 2. Senior co-captain Brigid McCarthy anchored the defense and played a key role in the success of the Blazer transition game.

McCarthy was happy with her team's performance tonight but knows it will take much more to run with the stronger teams in the county. "Even though the score was great, we weren't playing up to our potential," she said. "At times it was sloppy."

Wilchek was pivotal to the Blazers' success, running the offense with confidence and picking up ground balls. Both Gula and Zhao worked well under pressure and were not hesitant to go to the cage. As it gains confidence, the Blazer offense is emerging as a balanced unit that can strike from anywhere. Blair frequently broke down the Titan clearing game and maintained possession of the ball for the majority of the contest.

After losing its top three scorers to graduation, Blair was expected to struggle on offense this year. But the new attack, backed by a solid defense and quality goaltending, has proved it can hold its own by outscoring its first four opponents 53-16.