The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Fairview puts Brookside in its rearview
In the first half of Fairview’s Division II sectional semifinal against Brookside, the Warriors weren’t able to create any decent scoring chances. Enter Dorian Blazevic. In the 52nd minute, the junior scored from nearly 40 yards out to stake Fairview to a 1-0 lead. That would be more than enough for the Warriors, who defeated Brookside, 2-0.
“In the first half, we were playing a little more defensively than we normally do,” Fairview coach Roger Brooks said. “In the second half, we made some adjustments to increase our attack, and they worked.”
Blazevic’s goal couldn’t have come at a better time for him or the Warriors. In the first half, the lanky midfielder tried his hardest to make his presence felt, and for the most part he did, as almost all of Fairview’s four firsthalf shots were set up off the foot of Blazevic. His goal proved that he just needed one opportunity.
After corralling a ball in the midfield, he took a subtle dribble off the side of his foot to give himself an inch of space. With Brookside’s Steven Blitz hanging onto him, Blazevic took a shot from nearly 40 yards out that floated into goal over the head of Brookside goalkeeper Patrick Sheehan and into the back of the net to give Fairview the lead.
“The first goal opens the floodgates,” he said. “I saw my opportunity and took the shot, and after that we just gained more confidence. I’m always trying to create opportunities, and I saw my shot and took it.”
After Blazevic’s shot hit the back of the net, he immediately jumped off the ground and put his hands together to form a heart. As he was moved by his teammates, he pointed toward the Fairview supporters with a smile on his face.
“You could see the deflation in Brookside,” Brooks said. “We just kept up the momentum and kept attacking.”
Ten minutes af t er Blazevic’s goal, Ben Wier added the backbreaker. After Sheehan rolled the ball out of the box after a save, Weir intercepted a pass and, before Sheehan could get back in net, sent a shot into goal that iced the game. At
halftime, Weir and Blazevic — two underclassmen — listened to their senior teammates talk about how they didn’t want this to be their last game. They answered with two crucial goals.
“The talk at halftime got us going,” Weir said. “We realized this could be our last game of the season and their last game of high school. We knew we needed to step up for them.”
The Cardinals had three different 1v1 chances but walked away empty handed every time thanks to Fairview goalkeeper Tyler Danburg. Danburg finished with five saves. Outside of the 1v1 opportunities, the Cardinals’ best scoring chance came in the eighth minute when Lucas Ferenec nearly chipped in from distance but was wide left.
With the win, the Warriors advance to face No. 1 seeded Bay in a sectional final Oct. 24. In their lone regular season matchup against each other, Bay won, 5-0, in a game where Danburg finished with 17 saves.
“We need to forget about the last time we played them and just go in with a new mindset,” Weir said. “Anything can happen, and we need to be prepared for that.”
Much like his team, Brooks feels ready.
“We’ve seen what they have,” Brooks said of Bay. “They’re a fantastic team, but I think we’re ready for them. We have a few tricks up our sleeve.”