Blair crushes senior night game against Richard Montgomery

Boys Soccer Senior Night

Photo: Blazers celebrate goal from senior midfielder Luca Goles.

Blazers celebrate goal from senior midfielder Luca Goles. Photo courtesy of Beck Rowe.

Following a streak of close wins and ties, Blair’s varsity boys’ soccer team (7-3-2) pulled out a comfortable 3-0 win against the Richard Montgomery Rockets (9-2). After a slow start to the game, the Blazers squeezed in a goal off a corner kick, and followed up by closing out the first half with two more goals in the last couple minutes of the half. 

Following a glowing sunset kickoff, the Blazers pushed forward, managing to keep possession with clean passes and fancy footwork. Whenever the Rockets desperately tried to steal the ball, Blair’s players cleared them easily, managing all kinds of impressive tricks. At several points, they even completed stunning passes between their opponents’ legs. 

The turning point of the game happened with 15 minutes left in the first half. Following a corner kick, junior midfielder Leon Alvarez landed a clean header right into the goal. Blair kept up the momentum after the goal, with many more shots before the end of the first half. With a minute and a half left on the clock, senior midfielder Owen Boots scored a penalty kick, followed up a minute later with another strong goal from senior Luca Goles. Following the game, senior captain Yoan Pinsonneault explained the effect of the quick series of goals. “We put one in early, and that kind of gave us momentum for the rest of the game,” Pinsonneault commented. 

The Richard Montgomery Rockets didn’t go down without a fight, though. Right after Goles’s goal, in the last few seconds of the first half, senior goalkeeper Caleb Johnson blocked a last-ditch effort from the Rockets to close the gap between the teams before the end of the first half. 

After a delightful halftime performance from the Varsity Poms team, the game picked up with a close shot from the Rockets three minutes into the half. However, the Blazers’ dominant gameplay and clever footwork were too much for the Rockets, impressive enough to elicit cheers and gasps from the stands. The Blazers deftly claimed possession from their opponents, blocking any kind of attempt. 

Junior forward Christopher Moga was thoroughly impressed with his team’s showing. “This was probably our best game of the season. Everyone played really well, and we beat a really good team,” he said. Pinsonneault builds on this, explaining how strong the game was. “You can't really ask for much more. We won a 3-0 shutout on senior night,” he said. 

Moga also looked forward to the rest of the season. “[The win] was a really good omen for the upcoming games and playoffs,” he commented. 

The Blazers will face Blake High School (away) on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 5:15 p.m. for their final game of the regular season. Tickets can be found here.