In a game that was tight the entire time—both teams playing impressive soccer—the Lakers varsity soccer team fell to Bloomfield Hills 1-0 on Tuesday, September 17, 2013.

The newly-formed Bloomfield Hills High School (combination of Lahser High School and Andover High School) is quickly developing a rivalry with West Bloomfield; it was amplified on Tuesday night when Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks’ senior Conor Wahl scored 12:15 into the game, which turned out to be the game winning goal.

After the goal the Lakers let up early in the game, the game became very tight. Both teams played great in the first and middle third, but West Bloomfield had trouble creating scoring chances in the final third, which turned out to be crucial. They only had three shots on goal all game, two of them coming in the last five minutes of the game.

“We didn’t have enough composure on the ball,” said senior midfielder Ben Vorce, team captain, who is out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and partially torn meniscus.

The already injury-ridden West Bloomfield squad added several more injuries Tuesday with an apparent Roberto Escalante ankle injury and a scary David Hotz concussion in the 68th minute, which halted play for over 25 minutes due to an ambulance needed to tend to Hotz’s injuries. According to the family, Hotz’s injury is thankfully only a concussion, and it will only keep him out for several weeks. The injury bug has bitten West Bloomfield hard this season. Along with Vorce’s knee, senior Joey Asker and sophomore Skylar Jeppesen both sport knee injuries.

Even with injuries plaguing this team, they have put in a valiant effort this whole season, and despite a 4-4-2 record up to this point, every Laker fan should be proud of this team’s will to win.