Saturday's start to the Class B Subdistrict 2 Boys Soccer Tournament brought with it the end of Peter Massa's first season as the Blair High School head coach.
His Bears close the spring 5-9 after a 6-0 loss to top-seeded Bennington (16-1 overall).
“I very much appreciated the quality of the players I have,” Massa said, crossing the Badgers' turf on his way to the BHS bus in the parking lot. “And I mean both on-and-off the field. We've got some quality, dedicated individuals.”
The Bears had a chemistry their coach appreciated.
“I was very impressed with their character and their love for one another to play the game,” he added. “That's what I was really impressed with.”
Bennington, however, built a 4-0 lead through the first 24:04 of Saturday's match, scoring its first goal just 18 seconds in. Sophomore Max Leight produced it before senior Austin Kaiser scored the next three to bury the Bears early.
“They are very good at playing through balls in behind defenders,” Massa said of the Badgers. “That's why they're No. 1 or 2 in the state now, right?”
Jase Backlund added the home team's fifth goal late during the first half on a corner kick before Beau Pick added another in the 59th minute.
“They also have a couple of forwards up there that know how to make those runs and how to finish those runs,” Massa noted.
That said, BHS also felt it made mistakes to allow so many scores.
“We, as a team, feel we gave them 4.5 goals by mistakes,” the coach stated. “We had defensive mistakes that we don't usually have.”
Offensively, Blair junior Victor Hernandez took a shot on goal during the 57th minute before the Bears nearly scored again with 11 minutes left. In the end, though, they finished the final match of the season scoreless for the fifth time this spring.
Even so, Massa enthusiastically talked about what was next for the BHS soccer program.
“We're looking forward to building on this and moving forward next year,” he said.
Every one of the Bears' goal scorers this season was an underclassmen, including juniors Drew Wulf, Hernandez and Isaac Field, who finished with eight, seven and three goals, respectively. Their starting goalkeeper, Luke Donner, is just a sophomore, too.
Four seniors will not be back in 2026, however. Saturday's match was the last of Massa's first season as head coach, but also the last with Blair for Gabe Flynn, Alex Just, Josh Jones and Ian Collins.
“Whether they played varsity or JV or filled in, they have — for all of these years — been apart of this program and they've added to the quality,” Massa said. “Where you really see it is when we're practicing. They're all in.”
The Bears were all in, but now out of the Subdistrict 2 Tournament after their loss to the Badgers.
CLASS B SUBDISTRICT 2 TOURNAMENT
Saturday
Bennington 6, Blair 0
BHS (5-9) 0 0 — 0
BEN (16-1) 5 1 — 6
Goals: BEN — Austin Kaiser 3, Max Leight 1, Jase Backlund 1, Beau Pick 1.
