Blair varsity girls’ soccer wins against Einstein

The Blair Blazers (3-1) won against the Einstein Titans (2-2) with a score of 4-0 in their fourth game of the season on Friday. The Blazers started the first half with an aggressive offense and a solid defense that pushed back Einstein players when they had possession of the ball. Sophomore Elena Fernandez scored the first goal of the game, with 24 minutes remaining until half time. Later, Senior Hannah Tudge curved the soccer ball into the net to raise the score to 2-0. The heat was sweltering, but the Blazers’ kept their energy high.

Varsity coach Robert Gibb explained the new challenges this game presented. “We are missing a couple of players for a variety of reasons, including two of my starting defenders, so it is…an interesting game because we are playing some people in [positions] we don’t normally play them, but so far it's looking pretty good,” Gibb said at halftime.

 The Einstein Titans played much more aggressively than the Damascus Hornets, who the Blazers defeated last week with a score of 8-0. “They’re a little gritty, they’re physical, and they got some speed. They're definitely giving us a little more of a game,” Gibb said. This isn’t the Blazers’ first time playing against the Titans, as Tudge recalls. “We played them before in pre-season games and we didn’t do so well against them. But the people that have filled the shoes of our graduating seniors have stepped up to face the challenge,” Tudge commented. “This game in particular, I think we started out a little slow and sluggish, but after we got our first point everyone started to come together and really connect.”

The second half of the game was a brilliant display of the Blazers’ teamwork and tact, as passes were quick and clean, and most of the game was played on the offensive side. About 13 minutes into the second half, sophomore Simone Hargove clinched the Blazers’ third goal. The Titans’ goalkeeper successfully blocked a number of goal attempts made by the Blazers, which made scoring difficult. Finally, Tudge made the last goal, her second goal of the game. 

Freshman Helen Zekaris made it a point to applaud her teammates after the game. “I think the game went very well. We had four goals in, and I’m excited for what’s to come. I wanna give a special shout-out to Hannah because she scored two goals, and I think our defense was amazing,” Zekaris said. 

The Blazers will play their next home game against the Northwood Gladiators on Thursday, Sep. 30 at 7:15 p.m.