Class B No. 6 Blair's unbeaten start to the girls soccer season ended Tuesday during the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament semifinals.
The Bears scored first in their 11th match of the season, but the No. 7 Elkhorn Antlers scored the next four goals to win at Krantz Field, 4-1.
“Credit to Elkhorn. They played us tough,” BHS coach Nick Hall said. “They were physical, fast up top.”
The home team was quicker to score, though. Sophomore Claire Anderson found the back of the net first on an assist from Emmi Hall during the 17th minute.
The advantage held until the final seconds of the first half, too. Blair booted the ball out of bounds on its end of the field, allowing the Antlers to run a set play and score off of a Bear when they sent the ball into the box with 2 seconds left.
“So, they got that goal at the half and we start second-guessing ourselves,” Hall said.
The coach believed his team to be tired, too, as Elkhorn started to build on its good fortune just before the intermission. Olivia Bailey gave the road team its 2-1 advantage during the 47th minute before adding her second goal of the match in the 50th.
The Antlers' onslaught continued in the 57th when Molly Flynn scored, too.
The three-goal victory ultimately propelled EHS (9-3 overall) into the EMC title game, while BHS dropped to 11-1 with its first defeat of the spring.
“It's not the end of the world,” said Coach Hall, repeating what he told his team during its postgame talk. “It's one game. All of our goals are still ahead of us.”
Bears top Waverly
Blair started EMC Tournament play a day earlier with a 2-0 home win against 3-7 Waverly. Freshman Kaitlynn O'Neil scored both Monday goals during the second half as the Bears played without an ill Brynn Ray, their leading scorer.
“We all had to step up and just go into the game confident,” the ninth-grader said.
As goalkeeper Regan Blattert and her defense maintained a shutout, O'Neil notched several shots on goal during the first half with the first coming within the opening minute. Classmate Ryen Anderson uncorked her own during the 24th, but the Vikings' Sammy Linscott, a sophomore keeper, kept the score even through 40 minutes, 0-0.
O'Neil credited Linscott with strong play, but also stated how her Bears could have improved their odds of garnering a lead.
“We knew we just had to hit our spots,” she said. “We kind of always hit it right to the goalie or over. So, we just have to place the ball.”
The freshman placed her first into the back of the net during the 67th minute. Gueryn Kay's pass set her up in a 1-on-1 opportunity with the Vikings' keeper and O'Neil delivered.
“I saw the goalie was coming out, so I tried to just play it on the ground far into the corner and it went in,” she said.
The ninth-grader's second goal came 8 minutes later when Anderson found the forward with a short pass.
“It was actually perfectly placed,” O'Neil said.
She noted how her shot wasn't, but it still worked as the Bears advanced to the EMC Tourney's semifinals against the aforementioned Antlers.
BHS SOCCER LINE SCORES
Tuesday
No. 7 Elkhorn 4, No. 6 Blair 1
EHS (9-3) 1 3 — 4
BHS (10-1) 1 0 — 1
Goals: Blair: Claire Anderson. Elkhorn: Olivia Bailey 2, Molly Flynn.
Monday
No. 6 Blair 2, Waverly 0
WHS (3-7) 0 0 — 0
BHS (10-0) 0 2 — 2
Goals: Blair: Kaitlynn O'Neil 2.
