Patience is a virtue, and it can be a positive in many aspects of life.

On Thursday night, patience was the key for Blake in its 12-6 home victory over Independent Metro Athletic Conference rival Breck. 

“It just took us a long time before we started playing our game, but once we started being patient, it looked really (good),” Blake coach Sarah Fellows said. 

In a battle between Independent Metro Athletic Conference rivals, Blake got the bragging rights after defeating Breck 12-6 on Thursday. With the home win, the Bears secured the IMAC championship, their fifth in a row. 

The first half was played strategically by both teams, with possession being shared. The amount of dangerous play in transition was minimal, while both teams packed in near the goal to slow down their opponents’ half-field attack. As a result, Blake's offense started slow with the Bears failing behind 3-1 with just under seven minutes to play before halftime, and it looked as if it was going to be the tightly contested game everyone expected.

However, Blake (7-1, 2-0), ranked No. 4 in the coaches' poll, took over in the second half, netting nine goals to coast to the victory. It took the Bears the entire first half to score three goals, but it only took them the first 3 minutes, 54 seconds of second half to double their goal total. 

Blake's Emma Burke ran the attack from behind the net, setting up intricate plays with Sophie Skallerud and Shannon Ellis. The trio combined to score 10 of the Bears’ 12 goals in the game. Burke and Skallerud each had four, while Ellis added two. 

Elinor Applebaum scored a team-high three goals for Breck (2-3, 0-2). 

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Patience is a virtue, and it can be a positive in many aspects of life. On Thursday night, patience was the key for Blake’s 12-6 victory over Independent Metro Athletic Conference rival Breck. 

“It just took us a long time before we started playing our game, but once we started being patient, it looked really (good),” Blake head coach Sarah Fellows said after the win. 

The players knew calming down after the first half would be beneficial as well. 

“We were very anxious at the beginning because we weren’t scoring and we were dropping a lot of passes, but during the halftime we just spent a lot of time taking deep breaths and knowing that if we play the best we can, we will be able to put the ball in the back of the net,” Senior Emma Burke said. 

Burke was right, the Bears were very capable of putting the ball in the back of the net. After falling behind 3-1 with under seven minutes left in the first half, the Bears would go on to score nine unanswered goals to bury the Mustangs. 

The Bears got great contributions from all over the field, but Burke’s play behind the net stood out. Specifically, her connections with Sophie Skallerud and Shannon Ellis opened the Breck defense and led to the onslaught of goals that sparked the victory. Those three have been playing together for six years, which is enough time to develop an almost-telepathic relationship on the field. 

“It’s kind of like this weird connection thing that I’ll just look up and I’ll know that they’re there,” Burke said about Skallerud and Ellis. 

The trio combined to score 10 of Blake’s 12 goals. Burke and Skallerud had four apiece, while Ellis had two. 

Breck head coach Hannah Riggs thought her team let up a bit in the second half against “one of the best teams in the state.” 

“I don’t think we necessarily kept our intensity up in the second half,” she said. 

While the amount of scoring was impressive, what stood out in the second half was how long the Bears were able to possess the ball, barely letting the Mustangs have a chance to come back. 

“We were not taking great shots and possession is key…they were winning the draw and we weren’t coming up with it, so it’s tough to win the game when you don’t have the ball,” Riggs said. 

The highlight for Breck in this game was the performance of Elinor Applebaum, who scored a team-high three goals. 

The win secured the IMAC championship for Blake, its fifth in a row. While there was a positive vibe around the bench after the game, as the team got to wear conference champion t-shirts, Fellows did have one issue she wanted to address. 

“I just want to get to a point where we’re not waiting until the second half to start playing our game,” she said. 

As long as the Bears remain patient, they’re on their way to more success.