Girls finish season in close loss to Lakewood

Blaine midfielder Madeline Hall beats a Lakewood defender to the ball in an October 24 game at Pipeline Fields. Photo by Oliver Lazenby.

By Oliver Lazenby

Blaine girls varsity soccer finished its season with a close game against Lakewood that was scoreless aside from a Lakewood goal in the second minute.

Prestyn LaLone scored the goal for Lakewood. The Borderites had five shots on goal and several near misses on breakaways, compared to Lakewood’s nine shots on goal.

“I think the team did really well as a group,” said head coach Kelly Tuski. “They started out slow and worked hard. The outcome, I feel, could have been different. If we capitalized on some of those goal scoring opportunities, we could have made the postseason.”

Blaine finished the season one spot short of the district playoffs. Tuski praised the team’s work ethic and said it was just reaching its peak and was ready for the playoffs.

The Borderites displayed their improved passing and ball control in the final game, something they’ve worked on all season, Tuski said.

Maya Ball makes a pass in the Lakewood game. Photo by Oliver Lazenby.

“In the last couple games they really put it together,” she said. “I could tell they were proud of the way they were moving the ball around.”

The Borderites finished the season 2–13–1. Sky Nolasco led the team in goals with five. Gracelyn Economy had three, Maya Ball had two and Sydney Thrall

had one.

After the Lakewood game, Blaine players and fans celebrated the team’s three seniors: Brooke Giffen, Monika Kelly and Bianca Rodriguez. The seniors led a relatively young team, which included six freshmen out of 18 players.

“We definitely didn’t anticipate having so many freshmen on varsity. Overall, our juniors and seniors did a great job setting a good example,” Tuski said. “The seniors are a group we are really proud of.”