The boys’ soccer team (16–2–1) fell to the Montgomery Blair Blazers (8–3–2) 3–1 on Saturday.
After a great win against Bladensburg, the Vikes took on the Blazers in the state semifinal game but ended up short against a team they previously crushed in the regular season 4–0.
The game started off with the Vikings struggling on offense and defense. Both teams were attacking the other consistently, but the Vikes were getting pressured harder than the Blazers. While the Blazers were able to move the ball down the field, the Vikes were only able to move the ball in the back of the field.
During one drive for the Vikes, they lost the ball in the middle of the field and the Blazers were quick to attack to capitalize off of the Vikes’ mistake. The Blazers got a shot in the goal that went over the head of the Vikes goalie Elad Nahoom who couldn’t get there in time, which resulted in a score for the Blazers. After this goal, the Blazers kept pressure on the Vikes, forcing them to keep defending while their offense couldn’t move the ball downfield. This pressure resulted in another goal for the Blazers with a similar high shot on goal. The Vikes were only able to get moving offensively in the final minutes of the first half, but couldn’t get a last-minute goal before halftime.
The second half started with the Vikes playing much better. For the first 30 minutes of the half, the Vikes were attacking the Blazers, applying the same offensive pressure they saw in the first half. The Vikes had multiple chances to score and were able to get one goal that reduced the Blazers’ lead and gave the Vikes a chance to come back.
The Blazers’ goalie made a couple more saves that allowed them to keep the lead, and toward the end of the game, the Blazers scored a banger outside of the box. That goal prevented the Vikes from making a comeback. The Vikes lost the game in a valiant effort 3-1 and finished their season with an impressive (16–2–1) record and got ranked fourth overall across Maryland high school boys soccer teams from MaxPreps.
