6 Blast SC teams still in SoCal State Cup Elimination Rounds!

B2013-DeSantis/Baumgaertel

Fortunately, Coach Nate kept to the game plan, and another stellar high-speed run down the wing from Ethan Schwartz forced a foul and a free kick just outside the 18.  This is right in the danger zone for Iker Baumgaertel, who buried the ball in typical fashion, creating a spark that would propel the boys in the second half.

The second half saw everyone on the pitch play with renewed intensity, connecting passes, communicating and dedicating runs and challenges.  Defense came alive and shut down the LAFC offense, and the battle for midfield turned in Blast’s favor, resulting in offensive creation and a goal by Declan Bruntsch to tie the game up at 2-2.  LAFC started showing more signs of life and threatened with a few set plays and corners, one of which saw Henry Martin make a couple of key blocks back to back, and a few key clears by Alex Rozsnyoi and Gordon DeSantis, kept the game in hand and killed the momentum.  Coach Alea made it just in time from her earlier game to see the tide turn.  After overcoming that push, it was all Blast as Tanner Magil and Davin Hofstetter were tasked with grinding the offense forward and keeping the attack moving into the opponents third to keep up the pressure.  This continued pressure forced defensive errors, which saw the other team collapse and resulted in goals by Elliot Betschart and another for Iker, the final one with only minutes to remain and putting any hope of comeback out of reach.   At the end of the game Coach Nate put it best “In that second half, the other team didn’t know how to handle you.”

With another weekend down, the Blast Boys 2013 hybrid team prevailed in their first knockout round of the Elite Division of State Cup and are now in the sweet 16!

The Blast Boys 2011-DeSantis

Matias Miranda owning the left wing, had been pressing all half and finally was able to get one it. After his initial cross that bounced around in the box and then came back out to him, he was able to slot it in, hitting a defender’s toe along the way. The rest of the half was Blast domination. With a few minutes to spare, Matias broke free on a 1v1 with the keeper and with nerves of steel, he placed it into the net. Second half we had the wind with us. About halfway through Aiden Marquardt beat the last defender to a ball played over the top and punished the back of the net with a “banger” (as the kids like to say).

Sammy Salceda and Bryce Kreps were instrumental in stopping the over-loading of the right wing. The opponents thought they could sneak by us with extra players on that side, but those two kept them under bay. To top off the attack, Logan Kreps finished the scoring spree with the fourth goal nicely placed into the upper V. Even the defender who tried to grab it with his hands couldn’t keep it out of the net. Orlando DeSantis almost netted a fifth goal in the last play of the game, but the opponents refused to quit and a defender had come in with a nice sliding save. A huge shout out to the back line of Joseph Mosqueda, Ari Allen, and James Atik, who not only gave our keeper Francisco Gonzalez little to do, but were also a catalyst in initiating our attack.

Lastly, a lot of props to our centermids (Reid Scholes, Orlando DeSantis, Kaden Forero, and Hunter Black) who really worked together to shut down the middle channel. Their practices over the last few weeks really shone bright on the field. They gave up very little, and were walls in the middle, disrupting the opponents attack before it had even started.

This team is on FIRE and hitting their stride…. Take in the glory of being the

TOP 16! You’ve earned it!

The BLAST 2013 Girls

Each of our offensive leaders April Sanford & Adrie Gillespie had a pair of goals which were skillfully supported by Aubree Pollock.  The BLAST girls provided constant pressure for the full 60-minutes as our midfielders lead by Mackenzie Arca, Ava Madani, and Teddi Walker were able to control the middle and work the sidelines with crosses that allowed countless scoring opportunities.

The Pats Team was very skilled and quick, but our girls defensively kept battling till the very end.  Kenly Tuskan, Kaya Forero, Isa Trudershiem, and Marin Palmer all played with such heart and resilience to fend off the Pats continued pressure throughout the game.

Of course a huge component to this win was our goalie Violet Powell’s ability to read the field and position herself to make countless saves.  She came through time and time again which felt like she may have blocked over 100-shots!

Our girls left it all on the field and we are so pleased to see this group of girls gel with such cohesiveness as a team in such a short amount of time. They have worked so hard to get here and it has been great to see them grasp the fundamentals of soccer which have translated to the field.

None of this would be possible without the support of our parents, families, and teammates Lily Bruggeman, Gianna Johnstone, Regan Herlihy, and Noe Allen rooting for us and providing the energy we needed to close these games out.  The Sweet-16 is here, but we set our eyes on the Elite-8!

WELL DONE LADIES!