The Portage Blaze avenged an earlier loss to St.James Legends by out working their opponent in the rematch for a strong 5-1 victory.

The last time these two teams met, the Legends won 4-0 and Blaze keeper Connor Forzley was knocked out of the game and the line up for three weeks following a collision. Tonight, the Blaze were motivated to pick up a win as they had dropped to 6th place following last weeks loss. The win vaults the Blaze up to 2nd place with a record of 6 wins, 4 ties, and 3 losses.

The Legends were first on the scoreboard in this game, as an errant clearance from a Blaze defender went backwards into the goal. With 14 minutes remaining in the half, Jozefa Azevedo tied the game after receiving a corner kick from Leanne Scharikow. Just two minutes later, the Blaze went up for good as Leanne Sharikow scored her division leading 14th goal of the season. 

In the 2nd half, the Blaze continued to pour on the pressure and just five minutes into the half, Jen West received a pass from Scharikow and blasted a shot off the left post and in. With 11 minutes remaining, keeper Connor Forzley put a drop-kick into the Legends penalty area where Miranda Lamb placed a beautiful volley in for the 4th goal. With 5 minutes left in the game, Leanne Scharikow hammered a shot off the post, and Miranda Lamb put the rebound in for her 2nd of the game.

With just five games left, the Blaze are poised to finish in the top four of Division 1.

"We really wanted to play a strong game tonight after losing badly to the Legends last time, and everyone worked hard to get us the win. Connor had a great game in net which was nice redemption for her after getting injured last time. The Legends have really had our number in recent years, so it was nice to finally get the better of them with a well earned win" added coach Bryan Mintenko.

The Blaze have a bye next week, so their next action will be on Monday, February 15 against BA United.