The Blazers fought hard in tough loss against Whitman

On Sept. 12, the boys' varsity soccer team lost 3-0 to Whitman in a tough match. Blair fought hard throughout the entire game, but Whitman was able to capitalize on the Blazers' mistakes and pull away with the win.

Both teams had opportunities to score at the beginning of the game. In the sixth minute senior midfielder, Henok Azene, got a great header attempt off of a corner kick, but it was deflected away by a Whitman defender. With 20 minutes left in the half a Whitman midfielder took a shot from outside the box, but senior goalkeeper, Liam Delone-Bellsey, made a magnificent diving save that saved a goal.

Following their shot on goal, Whitman started to take control of the game, putting pressure on the Blair defense by playing fast paced and keeping the ball on Blair's end. Blair's defense was able to hold strong until there were 10 minutes left in the half. A Whitman midfielder scored an easy goal on a cross to a forward. With 35 seconds left in the half Whitman's midfielder scored another goal on a quick counterattack and a skilled pass from another midfielder. 

Blair was down 2-0 at the half, but they had been in a similar situation last week down 1-0 against Rockville. They came back to win, so this wasn't unfamiliar territory for the them. Senior midfielder Htooeh Redford-Maung Maung was not worried going into the half down 2-0 and was happy with how the team was competing. "It's like going into any game down 2-0, we just have to pick it up, play our game and keep working."

Blair started off the second half with lots of energy, looking poised for a comeback. They were matching the pace of Whitman and playing more aggressive on both sides of the ball. With 28 minutes left senior defender James Madden, crossed it into Henok Azene who almost scored. Whitman then immediately turned it around and scored, putting them up 3-0, extending their lead out of the Blazers' reach.

The Blazers never gave up even after going down 3-0. Coach Hernandez started putting in a lot of substitutions, all of whom went in and played their hearts out. It was a valiant effort from the Blazers, who are looking for a better outcome in their next game. Hernandez was proud of his team's effort and felt the score did not show how close the game actually was. "The score says 3-0, but I think the guys worked hard and it showed in the game that they were digging really deep and they were not giving up."

The Blazers will play their next game at Springbrook against the Blue Devils on Saturday September 22 at 12:00 p.m.