JV boys' soccer vanquishes Blake

Oct. 14, BLAZER STADIUM-

After a solid 2-1 win against the Damascus Hornets on Oct. 10, the junior varsity boys' soccer team played an outstanding offensive game and thoroughly trounced the Blake Bengals Saturday in a 4-0 win that puts their record at 4-3 on the year.

Head coach Marc Grossman was proud of the team, saying that the Blazers played a very solid game, containing the Bengals on offense and overpowering their defenders. He also complimented the play of several of the game's star players, including sophomore Erick Hernandez, who scored three of the four goals, freshman Georges Noubossie, who scored the opening goal of the game, and freshman Tomas Deza, the Blazers' goalkeeper, who achieved his first shut-out of the season.

The Blazers began with the kind of aggressive offense that characterized their play throughout the game. Five minutes into the game, Noubossie, a forward who joined the team after moving to the U.S. from Cameroon a month ago, eluded Blake's defenders and powered the ball into the goal, giving Blair an early 1-0 lead.

The Blazers kept the ball up field and frustrated Blake's attacks throughout the remainder of the first half, but they had trouble effectively controlling the ball. The frequent shots on goal were often wildly off-center, one striking the scoreboard in the 40th minute.

In the second half, the Blazers began to control the ball and apply more pressure to Blake's defenders. Blair midfielder Hamid Marroquin had to walk off the field after a knee injury in the 41st minute. But soon afterward, in the 44th minute, forward Hernandez scored a goal from a distance when his ball rolled past Blake's snoozing defenders and goalkeeper. Minutes later, Hernandez scored again, slipping through Blake's defenders into a good position in front of the net, tapping the ball past the goalkeeper. Early in the second half, the score was 3-0 in favor of Blair.

In the 51st minute, Hernandez fired the ball at Blake's goal on an assist from midfielder Greg Vogel, but his shot missed just wide. With only five minutes remaining in the second half, Hernandez fired a ball from an assist from forward Frank Cubas that bounced past Blake's goalkeeper to make the score 4-0 with the Blazers on top as the game drew to a close.

Noubossie, Hernandez and Deza were all proud of the team's performance, Noubossie saying that he was "very happy." Hernandez felt that the team's efforts, not just his own, helped him score his three goals. "I couldn't have done it alone," he said.

Deza, addressing the first shut-out of the season, said that Blair's defenders were a major asset. "They really helped me," he said.

The Blazers have a busy week ahead, with games on Wednesday and Thursday, and the team is hoping that they can keep up the momentum they've built up after two good wins. Grossman advised the team to rest on Sunday. "Bring the kind of energy you had today to the games next week," he said.

Blair's JV boys' soccer team's next game is at Northwest on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 5:00 p.m.