Albertus Magnus鈥� Orantay Blake sets sights on breakout season
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (BVM) — The one thing that every athlete aims to do during the season is improve and build off of their previous years performance. Albertus Magnus College鈥檚 Orantay Blake expects no less of himself.聽
Hailing from Trelawny, Jamaica, the Falcons standout moved to the United States because of his father. He was introduced to the sport of soccer by his uncle who would take the young striker to go play on the nearby field. For Blake, sports have been an important part of his life, even playing on his high school football team in Jamaica where he helped them compete for the Dacosta Cup in the Western Conference.聽聽
After settling in Hamden, Connecticut, Blake was faced with a decision of selecting a high school to attend. Choosing between Eli Technical and Hamden High School, Blake would eventually settle on Hamden, focusing on the school鈥檚 of their soccer program with the goal of competing at the high school level.聽
The Jamaican born striker took off during his time at Hamden High, starting throughout his time with the team. Blake racked up 15 career goals and five assists, and was awarded with SEC First Team honors during his time with the Dragons.
While at Hamden High, Blake had his eye on Bridgeport University and Albertus Magnus College as he looked to further his soccer career. With the two in mind, Blake decided to choose Albertus Magnus because he had, 鈥渕ore friends going to Albertus.鈥� Blake considers playing soccer at Albertus Magnus his greatest accomplishment so far in his young career.
However, his first season with the Falcons was less than expected as Blake only registered one goal in just four games with only five exhibition games being played with the canceled season. Using his freshman performance as his motivation, Blake is now primed to have a big bounce back year in his next season.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking to be the top scorer in my conference right now,鈥� Blake said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking to stand out.鈥澛�
Playing in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, Blake can also draw extra motivation towards achieving this goal from the fact that聽 the conference鈥檚 last top goal scorer was Salah Oumorou, a former member of his team. Therefore, it is safe to say that Blake is amongst good company.
The Jamaican native has already begun taking steps to achieve that goal as he is currently doing workouts and all the necessary reps needed to do so. As he works towards his goal, he draws inspiration from other world class striker role models; Brazilian star Neymar Jr and Jamaican born star Raheem Sterling.
The Falcons striker will be back in action again with the Falcons this upcoming fall.
