Girls lacrosse mauled by Bengals

Mar. 31, BLAKE–

The Blair girls' lacrosse team fell to the Blake Bengals tonight 8-14, stretching this year's losing record to 0-4. Despite the lopsided score, the team was positive about their ability to keep the game competitive. The eight Blair goals were scored by a combination of six different players, a definite improvement over previous games where seniors Maddie Driskill and Diana Frey dominated the offense.

The team was hurt again by the injuries of Frey and senior defender Julie Spatz. Frey is likely to miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL from the game against Watkins Mill, but Spatz is due to return soon.

The game started off badly for the Blazers, when a Blake player intercepted a pass and threw it to a teammate near the goal, who quickly ran in and scored to take the lead less than a minute into the game. The Bengals followed up immediately, winning the draw and bringing the ball right down the field and into the goal almost without resistance.

But the Blazers refused to give in so easily, as junior Karla Berberich brought the ball up field and passed to senior Kiran Belani, who scored her second goal of the season to put Blair on the board. The Bengals won the draw again and moved up field to score for the third time. Two minutes later, a Blake player brought the ball in close once again, dodging past three Blair defenders to score the Bengals' fourth goal in only five minutes of play.

The teams began to settle into a rhythm, and played back and forth for several minutes before junior Devon Madison brought the ball around the back of the net and slipped it in to close the score to 2-4. The Blair defense solidified, with Berberich and standout freshman Vanessa Hoy covering their opponents well. However, the Bengals' solid passing and outside game allowed them to keep the pressure on. They scored again after a successful save by freshman goalie Katelyn Luker, when the ball was kicked into the net in the ensuing scuffle for possession.

The score stayed at 2-5 until near the end of the half, when Driskill caught a rebounded save by the Blake goalie and sent it straight back into the net. The Blazers came right back after the draw and scored again on a shot by freshman Susie Branson after an assist by junior Dana Ballard. The Bengals replied in kind soon after, but the Blazers continued their assault and junior Elena Talbott was able to score with only seconds left to close the half at 5-6.
Unfortunately, this was as close as the Blazers could get to tying the score. The second half opened with four consecutive goals in ten minutes by the Bengals, as they utilized their excellent passing and teamwork to exploit holes in the Blair defense. Finally, the Blazers managed to get past the Blake defense and Madison scored her second goal of the night on a ground shot that bounced into the net.

After another Blake goal, Madison returned to the net once again, scoring her third goal from an assist by Ballard to bring the count to 7-11. Ballard scored herself minutes later, but the Bengals scored three more times in the closing minutes to end the game at 8-14.

Even with the loss, Belani was impressed with the team's performance, especially the offense's improvement over previous games. "The fact that six people scored eight goals was amazing," she said. "We didn't have one person controlling the offense."

The team was very balanced, with strong performances by several players besides those that scored, including junior Jessie Hallberlin, who was, according to Belani, "all over the place, on offense, on defense, on transition."

Coach Mike Horne was also positive about the results, saying that "Blake is traditionally a very strong team, but the girls stepped up tonight and proved they really know what they're doing." He was also proud that "the girls [didn't] give up when we were behind, and continued to play as a team."

The team will next play Damascus at home on Tuesday, April 4.