On Monday, September 25th, the Paint Branch Girls Varsity soccer team took on Montgomery Blair High School in a tough matchup that would see the Panthers finish on the wrong end of a 7-0 score.

After the pre-game warm ups, the players walked onto the field for the start of the game. Blair began with the ball at kickoff, and what started as a simple matchup turned into an unpleasant loss for the Panthers.

After a series of passes and changes of possessions, the first shot on goal came from the Blazers. The game was about five minutes in when left-wing Lindsay made an unexpected push forward, enthusiastically running past the forwards as she received a lead pass. Capturing the attention of the defense, she immediately released the ball some 45 yards away from the goal. Everyone watched as the ball spiraled in the air, lost air, and fell into the hug of the goalkeeper.

The Blazers picked up the pace and put heat on the Panther defense. This push paid off when they scored their first goal in the fourteenth minute from a corner kick. The goal came as Blazer captain spun the ball far out of the corner. The ball went clear above the players and was veering toward the sidelines when the a defender from the Blazers ran up in a last-ditch attempt, and clumsily booted the ball towards the goal. The referee casually jogged to the sidelines beckoning for the ball before realizing it was at the back of the net.

The referee whistled to signify the goal, and the celebrations erupted. The teammates crowded around as a crazed and overjoyed mother screamed, “ GOAL!!! GO JASMIN. YES. GO JASMIN WHOA!!!”well after the celebrations were over.

This got the ball rolling as the Blazers added another goal about five minutes later. After a valiant attempt by Anusha Basynat, a midfielder for the PB Panthers, to clear the ball, the Blazers fired back to pad their lead. The ball stalled in the air before landing a the feet of the Blazers’ captain. She raced between, through, and past defenders as her teammates screamed,“Go Gabbie !!! “ from the sidelines. She proceeded to the top of the box where she feinted right as she twisted the ball into the left corner of the net.

The PB sideline responded with silence, and remained in relative silence for the rest of the half. The Blazers were able to land two more goals before the end of the half. Lindsay of the Blazers scored at around the thirty-first minute, assisted by their captain, in a cunning 1-2 play. In the forty-second minute, a Blair player scored her third goal of the half on an unexpected volley after the goalkeeper had punched out the ball. This left the halftime score at 4-0.

The teams returned watered, energized, and ready to play. PB began with the ball at kickoff and kept possession of the ball for the majority of the second half. There were some worthy attempts at scoring including a goal by senior, Danielle Hernandez, a forward for the Panthers, that was called off for offsides.

Toward the end of the half, the Blazers were able to score three more goals. Their captain completed her hat trick as she scored two consecutive goals. The first goal resulted from a well placed throw-in, that she received before taking two to three dribbles, and then a heavy strike that left the ball inches away from the goalkeeper’s gloves.

Blair scored the next two around the eighty and eighty-fifth minute.The third goal was off another volley. This left the halftime score at 4-0. A Blazers midfielder scored their final goal in yet another corner-kick as she nudged the ball between the defenders and into the goal.

After the referee signaled that the game was over, the players shook hands as a sign of camaraderie. Hernandez thought the team missed some good opportunities in this game. She stated, “Teamwork. We were out of sync this game and that led to a loss. Hopefully, we can fix that with practice. There is nothing we can’t fix with practice.”