By Ian Haupt

Blaine girls soccer advanced to the district 1 runner-up game on Thursday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Borderite stadium after beating Mount Baker High School 5-0 November 1. The Lady Borderites will face Meridian Thursday night. If they win, they advance to the bi-district games.

On Tuesday night, the girls took control of possession but struggled to make any of their early chances count, while the Mountaineers looked to play counter-attacking soccer. Blaine beat Mount Baker twice in the regular season. 

The turning point came late into the first half as senior Madeleine Ernst beat the hesitating Mount Baker goalkeeper to a ball behind the Mount Baker defense. Ernst knocked it past the onrushing keeper who slid through the striker inside the penalty box. Denying a goal-scoring opportunity, the referee had to produce a straight red card. 

Senior Kristina Roby stepped up to take the penalty as one of Mount Baker’s forwards replaced their sent-off keeper. Roby slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, giving Blaine a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

“I think we controlled the game before the red card but the red card changes everything, especially when it’s the keeper,” head coach Gio Quesada said.

The one-player advantage made all the difference in the second half. Roby grabbed her hat trick, scoring twice more, and sophomore Juliana Zuzarte and freshman Beatrice Dickson each got one. 

Blaine came into…