Blazers burn through Rockets' defense

SEPT. 20, BLAZER STADIUM—

The most beautiful play of tonight's boys' varsity soccer game against Richard Montgomery (RM) came with just over 15 minutes left in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Josh Zippin moved the ball fluidly past multiple defenders. He transitioned from the center of the field to the right before he passed it off to senior co-captain Jack Eisen-Markowitz who put a powerful shot into the far left corner of the net.

Eisen-Markowitz's goal was the third in an offensive attack that gave the Blazers' four goals and a shutout over the Rockets.

Shortly after a minute of play in the first half, it was apparent that Blair was the stronger team. The Blazers effectively used space, making strong passes, playing careful defense and creating numerous scoring opportunities. The majority of the game was spent in the Blazer offensive end, taking shots, and scoring goals.

However it wasn't until 21 minutes into the first half that one of the Blazer goals hit the back of the net, when junior Steven Gomez followed up a weak shot and put it away after the RM goalie lost control. Gomez later assisted the second goal of the game.

In total, five Blazers' put points on the board. Gomez led the team with one goal and one assist. Eisen-Markowitz, and juniors Bereket Abebe and Maykel Vazquez put up the other four goals, Eisen-Markowitz's assisted by Zippin. The high score signaled a change in Blazer play, one that coach Adrian Baez noted at the games conclusion and one that he hopes can become final. "We need to finish more consistently then what we're doing right now. What we did tonight was have an excellent game. But we need consistency," said Baez, adding, "But we needed this result, we needed this win."

Now the boys' get ready for a tougher opponent in this Wednesday's home match against Magruder, which Baez was already prepping his team for at the conclusion of tonight's game. "Magruder is a much harder, more tactful game. Let's focus on that game guys. It's going to be tough, so we are going to have to be set," Baez told the team.

Come out and support the Blazers at 3:30 on Wednesday, September 22 as they look to take on Magruder.