Blazers drop conference game to a composed Springbrook squad, 11-3
A solid, undefeated Springbrook High School squad handed an inconsistent Blazer team its first loss of the season tonight, 11-3.
Springbrook dominated the possession game and jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. But strong offensive efforts by juniors Mairead Hunter, Beth Gula and Ariel Wilchek, along with several stops on the defensive end, cut the Blue Devil lead down to 6-3 at the half.
The Blazers came out cold in the second half and were shut out, five goals to none. An unorganized clearing game hampered Blair all night. After winning possession back with an amazing defensive stop or save, ill-advised passes combined with rusty stick skills did the Blazers in. The Blazers only made it harder on themselves with silly fouls that led to easy conversions from the restart.
Throughout the game, Blair struggled to penetrate Springbrook's aggressive defense. The Blazers managed only nine shots on goal in 50 minutes of play. Rarely did they maintain possession of the ball long enough to get any semblance of an offense started. Frequent Springbrook double teams rattled the Blazer attack and forced numerous turnovers.
Springbrook managed to slow the game down significantly and eat up chunks of the clock with smart possession play. They left the Blazers cold and showed their versatility with their stall offense and surprised them with strong run-and-gun transition. The Blue Devils owed much of their success tonight to senior Katie Simmons who quarterbacked their composed offense.
Once again, junior goaltender Anna Benfield anchored the Blazer defense. She managed to keep the game respectable with 13 saves in 50 minutes.
Before tonight's game, the Blazers were off to a good start with two road wins against Kennedy and Gaithersburg high schools. The Blazers (2-1), will face Einstein High School away Wednesday, April 2. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.
| Score by Half | 1 | 2 | Final |
| Blair (2-1) | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Springbrook (3-0) | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Blair Goals: Mairead Hunter (2), Beth Gula
Blair Assists: Mairead Hunter, Ariel Wilchek
Blair Goalies: Anna Benfield (13 saves, 50 minutes)
Lincoln Fischer. Senior sports writer Lincoln Fischer was born in Manhattan, New York on May 1st 1985. He presently lives in Takoma Park with his mother, father and sister. His father, Craig, is an editor for Pace Publications, which produces a number of newsletters related to criminal … More »
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