9/13/08 – Junior Arielle Aikens struck for 4 goals as the Bucs beat Phillipsburg High School 4-1 in the Friendship Cup game. Freshman Haley San Giacomo, sophomore Rachel Reisner and junior Rebecca Litvin each tallied an assist in the game.  Freshman goalkeeper Cat Miller had a good debut, earning the win in the net. 

 

9/17/08 - With just under four minutes left in the second overtime, Blair's Lauren Baumgartner served a driven, bending  corner kick to sophomore Rachel Reisner, who headed the ball into the net for Blair's second win in as many games.  The Bucs had gone down 2-0 to Rutgers Prep with about 20 minutes left in regulation.  However, Baumgartner also assisted Blair's other two goals-one by junior Arielle Aikens and one by sophomore Haley San Giacomo. Blair tied the score with under two minutes remaining in regulation.  The first ten minute OT passed with neither side gaining advantage, though Bucs' freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller made a key breakaway save (one of her seven saves on the day) to keep the score tied. 

 

9/19/08 - Despite a solid finish on a penalty kick in the 59th minute by sophomore Rachel Reisner, the Bucs lost 2-1 to North Warren.  The Patriots scored their second goal with just 1 minute remaining in regulation to seal the win.  Blair's freshman goalkeeper, Catherine Miller, made 15 saves in net.

 

9/24/08 – Girls’ soccer got out to an early lead, scoring within the first three minutes of their match against New Brunswick High School.  By the end of the first half, freshman striker Haley San Giacomo had a hat trick, junior Arielle Aikens added two goals, and senior defender Adriana Jamieson scored her first career goal.  Freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller posted the shut out in net.

 

9/27/08 - After falling behind just six minutes into the game, Blair came back five minutes later to even the score on a long shot from freshman striker Haley San Giacomo.  Though Newark had the better of play for a good portion of the second half, the winning Blair goal was scored with just 8 minutes remaining in regulation.  On a driven corner kick by junior midfielder Lauren Baumgartner, sophomore Rachel Reisner settled the ball and laid it back to the 18 yard line where junior Arielle Aikens was waiting.  Aikens's stike went into the upper corner of the goal for what turned out to be the game winner.  Blair was outshot in the game 17-7, but the defensive unit of senior captains Margaret DeOliveira and Adriana Jamieson along with Reisner and junior Claire Parker led the way for the Bucs.  Similarly, freshman goalkeeper Cat Miller played her best soccer so far this year, making 15 saves in net, including three critical breakaway saves. 

 

10/1/08 - Despite strong efforts by sophomore midfielder/striker Allie Reed and senior defender Adriana Jamieson, Blair loses to a strong Pope John team.  Led by University of Virginia-bound striker Emily Carrollo, who scored her fourth and her team's final goal part way through the second half, Pope John beat Blair 6-0.  Pope John's record increased to 7-0, while the Bucs fell to 4-2.  The Bucs look to bounce back on Saturday as they travel to Mercersburg for a league game.

 

10/4/08 - Playing the game with just two substitutes-due to sickness and injuries-the girls varsity soccer team had a 1-0 lead on Mercersburg by half-time and increased it to a final 4-0 score.  All four tallies came from junior Arielle Aikens while sophomore Rachel Reisner collected an assist.  The defensive play of senior tri-captain Margaret DeOliveira and sophomores Allie Reed and Lucy Shapiro as well as high-energy midfield play from senior tri-captain Liz Andreas led the Bucs to victory at Mercersburg.  Freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller had a relatively uncontested day in goal, picking up four saves.  The Bucs improve their record to 5-2 and look forward to their next match against MKA on Tuesday.

 

10/7/08 - Several times in the match-up with Montclair Kimberly, the girls’ soccer team closed the gap to a one goal difference, but the Bucs could not get the game any closer.  After going down 2-0, Blair's Arielle Aikens scored, but MKA scored once more before the half, making it a 3-1 game.  Aikens started the second half with an early goal, but again MKA came back, making it 4-2.  Aikens responded with her third goal, assisted by sophomore Allie Reed, to make it a 4-3 game.  After an injury to freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller, MKA added an insurance goal with 5 minutes remaining and scored their final goal with two minutes on the clock to close out a 6-3 game.  The Bucs will face The Hun School (3-4) on Saturday.

 

10/11/08 - After an evenly played first half which saw two Blair scores (one by Arielle Aikens and one by Lauren Baumgartner) and two goals for Hun, Hun pulled away in the second half to finish with a 6-3 win.  The final Blair tally came from freshman striker Haley San Giacomo.  The Bucs look to regroup against Prep A rival Princeton Day School on Wednesday.

 

10/15/08 - The Bucs were hoping for better against a good Princeton Day squad. Down 1-0 at the half, the Bucs scored with 20 minutes left in the game on a timely play in a crowded box by junior Arielle Aikens.  Unfortunately, the team could not hold defensively, and PDS scored with just 8 minutes remaining in regulation.  Freshman Catherine Miller had 11 saves in net.

 

10/18/08 - Despite the obvious disappointment in relation to the final score, the Bucs had a well played match against Lawrenceville.  After giving up a goal just one minute into the game, the Bucs came back and scored less than a minute later on a breakaway goal by junior Arielle Aikens.  Unfortunately, Lawrenceville struck three more times before the half.  The second half was much better, as the teams played a more even game. Aikens managed to tally another score, and freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller finished with 11 saves in goal.

 

10/22/08 -  Blair downs Hun 1-0 in state play—the Bucs face Pennington next.  Just 17 minutes into the match, junior midfielder Lauren Baumgartner sent a ball over the top to junior striker Arielle Aikens, who took the ball 8 yards on a dribble and then beat the keeper.  Blair went into the state quarterfinals looking to better their results, a 6-3 loss, from their last match-up with Hun.  Blair's defense was the story of the match, as Hun earned 15 shots and 7 corner kicks.  However, freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller saved the day on a breakaway midway through the first half, and the back four (senior captains Margaret DeOliveira and Adriana Jamieson, junior Claire Parker and sophomore Lucy Shapiro) played well to keep Hun at bay.  The Bucs look forward to the challenge of meeting Pennington, the #1 team in the country, in the semi-finals next Tuesday.

 

10/25/08 – The Lady Buccaneers kicked their way to a 4-3 win over The Hill School on Saturday. Blair got an early lead from a goal by junior Arielle Aikens in the first half of the team's Parents' Day match-up against The Hill School. Blair added three more goals early in the second half, two more were by Aikens and one was scored by sophomore Rachel Reisner from an Aikens’ assist. Junior Kelsey Stevens, who has returned from a serious six-week injury, tallied her first points of the season with an assist to one of Aikens's goals. Thirteen games into the season, Aikens has 24 goals. Freshman Catherine Miller had five saves in net.  The Blair Bucs will face Pennington on Tuesday in the State Tournament semi-final match.

 

10/30/08 - The girls varsity soccer team lost a hard-fought Prep A state semi-final match to the Pennington School by a 4-0 score.  Pennington, ranked first in the nation by both NSCAA and ESPN, scored their first goal 40 seconds into the game, but the Bucs settled in and fought the entire way, going into half-time 2-0. The Bucs' first half highlights included Arielle Aikens and Haley San Giacomo getting good looks on goal, hitting a cross bar at one point and earning a corner on the other. Defensively, senior Margaret DeOliveira, sophomores Rachel Reisner and Lucy Shapiro with junior Claire Parker all played well in the back. Freshman Catherine Miller had 10 saves, including one key save that she touched over the cross bar.

 

11/1/08 -  Blair scored twice in each half to post a 4-0 victory over Belvidere. Arielle Aikens scored three goals and had an assist. Haley San Giacomo tallied a goal and an assist, and Rachel Reisner had an assist. Freshman goalkeeper Catherine Miller stopped a penalty shot midway through the second half, and she made 8 saves on the way to a shutout. The Bucs will face Morristown Beard this Wednesday before facing their rival Peddie on Saturday to cap off a fine season.

 

11/2/08 - Game article not yet available.

 

11/5/08 - Game article not yet available.

 

11/8/08 - Game article not yet available.