The Blair girls soccer team allowed Saturday's first goal just 104 seconds in.
Even so, the Bears dug their cleats into the Omaha Duchesne grass and earned a 2-1 advantage during the Class B Subdistrict 3 Tournament opener. Less than 4 minutes separated them from a first-round victory against Omaha Concordia.
The Mustangs, however, scored twice in 106 seconds. They won, too, 3-2.
The loss ended BHS' season with a seventh-straight defeat after a 7-2 start. It ended senior Allison Hernandez's prep career, too.
“High school soccer is very brutal,” she said after wiping tears from her eyes. “And, I feel, in my four years here, I gave what I could.”
The shorthanded Bears all did Saturday. Without injured seniors Kaitlyn Johnson and Sally Kies, coach Nick Hall wound up playing every member of his active — but depleted — roster against Concordia.
“We didn't lose for a lack of effort,” he said. “Again, it just comes down to not having enough at the end.”
“We worked hard the whole game,” Hernandez added. “We just can't have those little breaks. That's what killed us.”
Blair trailed 1-0 at halftime, but regularly worked the ball into Concordia's goal box early on during the second 40 minutes. Freshman Claire Anderson was taken down to the grass twice during the first 10 minutes, but didn't get a call from the referee either time.
Then, during the 52nd minute, Maddie Kempcke fired a BHS shot off of the Mustang goalkeeper's mitts. It was stopped, but Anderson's light header off of a long Wrylee Osterhaus throw-in was not. She may have not been the intended target, but her goal produced a 1-1 tie.
Anderson and Brynn Ray both manufactured scoring opportunities from there, forcing the Concordia keeper into two more saves. It was Ray's short cross to Kempcke during the 63rd minute, however, that earned the Bears their lone lead of the match. Kempcke, a sophomore, finished the assist past the keeper and into the net.
Blair held the 2-1 advantage until Concordia scored the first of its last two goals with just 3:26 left in the match.
“We did enough to win the game, but we just kind of had a letdown for a couple minutes,” Hall said. “I'd say more like a meltdown, but we just need more girls. More help out there.”
Johnson, Kies, Hernandez, Sydney Campbell and Abby Hartvigsen won't be able to, however, with their impending graduations from BHS.
“Allison, she did everything that we asked,” Hall said. “Didn't sub her out much.”
The senior logged miles and minutes on the pitch, but now is onto Newman University soccer in Wichita, Kansas. Her sister Valeria Hernandez, though, will be back with Anderson, Kempcke, Ray, Osterhaus and the rest of the 2023 underclassmen.
“She'll do a really good job,” Allison Hernandez said of her little sister. “She will definitely step it up.”
BHS SOCCER LINE SCORE
Saturday
Omaha Concordia 3, Blair 2
OC (10-5) 1 2 — 3
BHS (7-9) 0 2 — 2
Blair goals: Claire Anderson and Maddie Kempcke.
