Sudden death brings shots and thrills as Blair outlasts Watkins Mill

The Boys varsity soccer team won a heart-pounding, breath-taking and teeth-grinding thriller today, surviving Watkins Mill in triple sudden death overtime, 7-6.

The game, fairly evenly matched throughout, was forced into a shootout. The first ten shooters successfully scored their penalty kicks (the first five from each team). When the 11th shooter, #29 of Watkins Mill, kicked the ball into the outstretched hands of junior Blair goalie Chris Wilhelm, the potential game-winning shot was in the hands (or feet rather) of junior Yenika Fon. Fon stepped up and blasted the shot through the upper left part of the net, sealing the Blair victory and Blair's entrance into the second round of the playoffs against County-leading Whitman on Tuesday, October 28.

The score at the end of regulation was 1-1 via goals by both teams' leading scorers, senior Dennis Salgado for Blair and junior Kevin Gnatiko for Watkins Mill. Gnatiko, one of the top players in the county, played a tough game, and his efforts did not go unnoticed. "[Gnatiko] is an excellent player," Blair coach Adrian Baez said after the game. "The only way we were able to control him was to put more defenders in the back field." Gnatiko had a perfect opportunity to send his team into the second round when he had a breakaway in the first overtime period. Fortunately for the Blazers, Blair had a gem on their side as well as Wilhelm valiantly stepped up and blocked the shot.

Wilhelm was the "man of the match," according to Baez. He made several key blocks throughout the game, including the one in the shootout which led to Blair's victory. After all, says Baez, "if it wasn't for Chris, we would be kissing the season goodbye."

The game was so brilliantly fought out by both sides that the end was sort of movie-esque (if there is such a word). At the same time, the end was disheartening for Watkins Mill players and fans.

"It hurts because both teams could have won," Gnatiko explains. "It also hurts because we lost off penalty kicks, of all things." Gnatiko, who was supposed to go to Blair but moved to the Watkins Mill area shortly before entering high school, realized how much this game meant to him. "I wanted to show Blair what they missed out on," Gnatiko says. However, because of his remarkable composure and good sportsmanlike behavior, he had to add in; "I gave my best, but sometimes it just doesn't work out like you'd like it to. I just want to say good luck to Blair."