Boys Lacrosse succumbs to Blake

On an overcast Saturday afternoon, the boys' lacrosse team (5-4) took on the Blake Bengals at home. The Blazers fought hard, staying with the Bengals for the entire first half. However, final score was 10-4 in favor of the Bengals.

Despite losing the opening faceoff, Blair quickly gained possession in their attacking third. Both teams were frantic with the ball, causing the opening minutes to be characterized by quick transitions. When the Bengals opened the scoring in the eighth minute, however, things began to calm down. Blake's confidence and poised passing led to another goal in the sixth minute. The Blazers countered two minutes later, when sophomore Paul Moser whipped the ball past the Blake goalie. The goal kick started the Blair offense, and attacker Sean Tan quickly tied the game up at two goals. Eventually, however, Blair got caught trying to pass it out of the back. Some defensive errors led to another Bengal goal, despite some stellar point blank saves from Blair goalie Ashe Durban.

The second period opened with a quick goal from the Bengals, as the Blazers struggled to maintain possession. When senior Eyal Li powered a low shot into the net in the seventh minute, however, the momentum shifted. Blair began to see more of the ball, and a strong defensive display led by seniors Adrian Kombe and Eduardo Hernandez kept the Bengals out for the rest of the period. The half ended Blair 3, Blake 4.

The Blazers came out of halftime looking ready for action. A strong, extended carry from senior Max Scribner led to Blair's fourth goal of the match, as a pass across the goal mouth was quickly slotted into the net by Moser. Blake seemed to lose composure, forcing the ball forward unnecessarily and struggling to regain the game's momentum. However, as the game progressed they regained their calm until, in the third minute, Blair's defense was compromised again. Blake scored three goals in three minutes, ending the period with Blair down 7-4.

"We got hurt on the quick transitions," Kombe said, "The three quick transition goals in a row were severely disappointing."

Coming into the final period, the Blazers struggled to stay positive. Blake managed to find the back of the net three more times, including one goal that came with six-tenths of a second left on the clock. The game ended Blair 4, Blake 10. With this win, Blake also won the division title.

"We played well," said Kombe. "We started five sophomores, which is half of the starting team. We just need to keep playing 100 percent; keep it up for playoffs in two weeks."