[Sly Fox]

She's started at goal every game since her freshman year on a team that was just named national champions by a number of organizations. The Nairn mentioned here is the likely national player of the year.

From an Annapolis, MD fishwrap ...

When you need a top 'Blocker,' there are 'Nairn' better than these

Go ahead and tell them they're not as good as they think they are; they'll probably ignore you. Underestimate their ability to make nationwide headlines for dominating opponents with apparent ease, they most likely won't say a word. But tell this team's two star seniors that they don't have the wherewithal to lead the rest of the squad to victory by example, and they just may laugh at you ... at least to themselves.

The truth is, these two humble Archbishop Spalding High School soccer stars are not conceited in any way. They are both unassuming when discussing their individual accomplishments and prefer to brag on their teammates rather than themselves. And in reality, doubts like the aforementioned simply don't arise regarding Bowie natives Christine Nairn, a midfielder, and Karen Blocker, a goalkeeper.

Blocker - who is trying to decide between attending Liberty University, the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University - concurs with those sentiments. "It's true," she said, "they are all amazing players. There's no way (Nairn and I) could do it alone, just the two of us."

Still, it is virtually impossible for opponents to contain Nairn's powerful leg and Blocker's ability to - well - block goals. Along with Page and Allen, Nairn and Blocker are also teammates on a premiere area club team, the Freestate Shooters, and have become good friends off the field. Thankfully for Spalding, their chemistry on the field has only helped improve communication between the players.

"Karen (Blocker) is awesome," said Nairn. "She always works hard. There is nothing bad you can say about her. She is always happy and smiling. She's just a great person."

Blocker believes that she and Nairn have developed somewhat of a sixth sense on the field, and Nairn's competitiveness and leadership qualities make it fun to play with her.

"Obviously, she is an unbelievable player," said Blocker. "She knows when to pick up the pace and she knows when to slow us down. She's a real strong leader on the team … we can read each other's body language now. She can tell when I'm frustrated, and I can tell when she's frustrated. I think we both have become better players because of it."

"It will be extremely hard again this year," Blocker cautioned about this season's playoff field. "Every team is good." So good was that competition, in fact, that the thrill of victory did not last as long for Spalding this postseason as it did in '06. The Cavaliers breezed past Baltimore's Mercy High School in the quarterfinals, 5-0, but fell just short in the semifinals against McDonough, 1-0.

Displaying the twosome's all-too-familiar modest tone, Blocker, when describing the playoff field, sounded more like a hesitant rookie than a brash vet who - with Nairn - guided the Cavaliers to the top ranking in the country.

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[absturgill]

That's from my hometown paper, the Bowie (MD) Blade news. Hopefully she'll choose Liberty