It was a good first game for the Blair girls soccer team Saturday afternoon.
Six Bears scored 10 goals as coach Nick Hall's squad beat Lincoln Northwest at Krantz Field, 10-0.
“It was wonderful,” freshman Cadence Field said after her first-ever high school match. “It was a great experience, a great first game.”
Veteran defender Blythe Knight felt the same way after goalkeeper Brooklyn Schroeter's first clean sheet.
“It felt like a really good season opener,” the senior said. “It was the right way to just get the first win in.”
The Bears scored five first-half goals and five during a shortened second with the match ending early by mercy rule. Brynn Ray, Kaitlynn O'Neil, Laynie Brown and Field scored two goals apiece, while freshmen Beau Wendt and Lindsey Moeller tallied one each.
“We were really working on just connecting our passes, moving around and getting open,” Knight said. “I felt like we did a good job of that today.”
Brown, a sophomore, scored the Eastern Midlands Conference match's first goal on an assist from O'Neil during the third minute. Shortly thereafter, Ray — a senior Minnesota State recruit — scored her first goal of the new season.
Field chased down a through ball and passed it to O'Neil for a goal during the 13th, too.
Schroeter later notched her first save of 2025 in the 14th minute before Wendt blasted a ball off of a Northwest Falcon and into the goal during the 19th. The Bears then went ahead 5-0 on Brown's second goal during the 32nd.
For as many BHS attempts that found the back of the net during the first half, just as many — if not more — just missed off of the crossbar or just over it. O'Neil, Ray, Moeller and Field didn't waste nearly as much time getting five more goals during the second half, though.
“We did find the back of the net,” Field said after producing the last two off of her cleats. “We struggled a little bit, but, eventually, got there.”
Overall, the freshman starter felt the Bears succeeded in what they set out to do Saturday.
“We're just figuring out how to play with each other, so I feel like it was good start,” she said.
Now, though, there's many more spring matches to go.
“I'm looking forward to the level of intensity we're going to play with this year,” Knight said. “I feel like we have a really good returning lineup, and we're just going to get better and better.”
Blair was scheduled to play Waverly on Monday and next hosts Platteview at Krantz Field on Thursday. The junior varsity home match starts at 5:30 p.m. before the varsity game at 7.
BHS GIRLS SOCCER LINE SCORE
Saturday
Blair 10, Lincoln Northwest 0
LNW (0-1) 0 0 — 0
BHS (1-0) 5 5 — 10
Goals: Brynn Ray (2), Kaitlynn O'Neil (2), Laynie Brown (2), Cadence Field (2), Beau Wendt and Lindsey Moeller. Winning keeper: Brooklyn Schroeter.
