Chandra Blood looks up to her older sister Sasha with much admiration.

Enough so, in fact, that when Sasha was in seventh grade and went out for the junior high school soccer team, the kid sister followed in her footsteps.

Five years later, Brewer High School has reaped the benefits of this impressive sibling rivalry.

The Blood sisters, who moved to Brewer from Houlton a little more than three years ago, will help lead the Witches into Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class A schoolgirl soccer quarterfinal playoff action. The Witches, seeded seventh with an 8-5-1 record, will trek north to Caribou to face the second-seeded Vikings, 8-2-4.

With Chandra, a junior, on the left wing and Sasha, a senior, on the right wing, Coach Mark Savage has a pair of potent bookends on his frontline this season.

“The two of them together, it’s hard to concentrate on two good wings,” said Savage. “They both do a great job handling the ball and Chandra just has a rocket (shot).”

Opposing coaches echo Savage’s sentiments about the Bloods.

“You’ve got Sasha with more speed than Chandra, but Chandra is a better skilled player in terms of what she can do in the open field,” said Hampden Coach Randy Dodge, who also coached Chandra at the middle school level. “Chandra is soccer smart and Sasha is a great complimentary player. Sasha makes everybody else around her look good.”

“I can tell you right now, they are explosive,” said Lisa Richards, coach of the Bangor Rams. “They’re dangerous, they have good speed, and good control.”

There is no bad blood in this sibling rivalry, however. The Blood sisters are close. At first glance, they look twins, though Chandra is a year younger, a bit shorter, and wears braces.

They are also quick to compliment one another for their on-field exploits.

“Sasha’s a good leader,” said Chandra. “She tells us how to run the team. We communicate really well.”

“She knows what she is doing out there,” said Sasha. “She played defense last year and was a fullback. She’s really aggressive.”

Sibling athletes who grow up so close is often a telltale sign of competition. In the Bloods’ case, playing one another over the years (they also play tennis at Brewer) has helped make each of them better athletes and better people.

“There is a lot of competition between us, but we don’t let it get in the way of our relationship with each other,” Sasha said. “Sometimes we get frustrated. But, she’s pretty easy-going. I’m the more serious one.”

“It’s kind of funny, but they are typical sisters,” Savage said. “They work very well together and read each other pretty well. A lot of that might have to do with their skill level, too. Once you get to a certain level of play, you learn to read people.”

Chandra made the adjustment from fullback with relative ease this season, leading Brewer in scoring with 10 goals and four assists. She exploded for five goals in a game against Bucksport on Sept. 28.

Sasha added seven goals and five assists from the other wing.

In between the two, senior Emily Burrill had nine goals and four assists, giving Brewer a balanced front line.

“I really worked hard through the season. I hoped to accomplish a lot,” said Chandra. “I think (scoring) is just how it’s worked out. I like assists more, helping my teammates out and doing whatever it takes to win.”

Behind the Bloods and Burrill, a young Brewer team has aided in the playoff run. At halfback, sophomore Denise Hewes centers between senior Kristen Card and junior Tanya Willis; at fullback, sophomores Brynn Clough and Amanda Sevigny along with junior Paula McKenney and senior Heather Stobie are defensive keys; while in net, senior Tiffany Trott is the last line of defense.

There is no bad blood on this Brewer team, however. And the Witches are hoping that could carry deeper into the postseason.