Vikings reign over Blazers in season opener

SEPT. 14, BLAZER STADIUM—

There were cloudy conditions on and off the field tonight as the Blazers suffered a disappointing loss to top-ranked Whitman, losing the game 0-2 and dropping their record to 1-1. The last two minutes of an evenly matched first half found the Vikings putting two shots into the goal, the first with 1:48 left in the half and the second exactly one minute later with only 48 seconds remaining.

Other than that, the game saw no clear cut advantage for either team. The fight for control of the midfield was 50-50, and equal time was spent on each offensive side. As coach Adrian Baez said to the team at the end of the match, "Boys, we are two minutes away from the best."

To Baez, the game was lost in the midfield. He believes that the two teams fought for possession of the ball more vehemently than try to control the ball and create scoring opportunities. The few times in the first half that the ball did move up into Blair's offensive zone, the team was unable to capitalize. One Blair spectator yelled out in frustration, "We're not going to win without shooting it." It was a message echoed by Baez at halftime and after the game.

The defense, led by almost error-free play by senior co-captain Greg Breads, put up a valiant fight against the Whitman offense. The defense made strong clears and smart tackles for the most point, unfortunately letting two goals slip through the cracks.

At the end of the game, Baez was optimistic, trying to lift the heads of his disappointed squad. "Gentleman, that was not a bad game," he said. "All that we probably need to take back is the last two minutes of the first half. The skies opened up and they rained on us."