Author’s Note:  Thanks to Connie Sartory for answering with the pictures!

  Remember the old line about the unstoppable force taking on the immovable object? Last night the object won. If they meet again in May it might reverse. A really interesting game played out last night, both if you look at the surface level as well as under the stat line. Don’t be fooled by the 2 goals, Jupiter got lots of good looks inside when they were patient, but on those Oxbridge goalie Christian Tomei reigned supreme, with 18 saves on 20 shots on goal. A 90% save percentage is something you only see in hockey and emergency rooms. And it’s not like Riley Quinn and Hunter Bracci failed to show for Jupiter, they had a 67% save percentage too.  When Oxbridge was able to get a good look.  That wasn’t so easy either with the way Jupiter played defense.     But don’t also be fooled by something else.  This Oxbridge team is REALLY playing well together.  Team defense covers each other’s backs.  The offense doesn’t rush and gives the defense a breather.  And right now Jack Kilian is as good an all-around middie as anyone down here. It’s been an effective formula, and it can carry the team a long way.  Bishop Moore, Saint Andrew’s, St. Thomas Aquinas and now Jupiter . . . FIFTEEN GOALS TOTAL ALLOWED . . . And the side effect last night was in how the Jupiter offense adjusted, or should I say cut out, last night.  Those who watch a lot of Jupiter games know they are perfectly happy with firing from up top on offense.  It’s been a staple of the team for years.  And in the second half the offense stopped that.  Looked to get inside even more as the game wore on . . . and didn’t trust their shooting enough in the half.  That’s what a 90% save percentage can do.  You get too interested in improving the shot.  And even then 14 of Jupiter’s 20 shots on goal were in the second half. One thing that I want to note was that Oxbridge had a possession that started a little over 2 minutes to go, got the ball into the box for the ‘keep it in’ warning, and ran off nearly 90 seconds of clock before Connor Davies put the exclamation point on the game with the empty net goal.  That was a very impressive 90 seconds. Making a potential rematch a must-watch game.     The teams went scoreless in the first quarter as each goalie made two saves and the teams combined for 7 turnovers, mostly from the pressure the defenses put on.. Oxbridge broke open the scoring with 7:54 to go in the second.  After a crossbar shot from up front the ball rebounded to Connor Davies and after he won the groundball he found Jerry Annunziata up top for the 15-yard step down to the top left corner for 1-0.  After a clear Kilian worked the left side and after a face dodge he cut to the middle and his right hand hit the top left to make it 2-0 with 4:43 left in the half and that’s where we ended.  A great late half look for Jupiter, off a fast break alone in front, was turned away. Early in the 3rd Reece Riccardo made it 3-0 at 10:43 after Tomei came up big twice, taking flight from inside the offense half near the sidelines and beat the defender to the goal, going with the left hand low from near the right crease.  It looked like that was going to be it for the period as Tomei made 7 saves in the quarter, but off a scramble behind the net Trevor Sousa emerged with the ball and took off for the curl from behind left, finishing high to the short side with only 4 seconds to go, and it was 3-1 Oxbridge going to the fourth.     Keeping the momentum going, Kenny Cronin managed to get some space on a spin move from the right wing to the middle, and his right hand beat Tomei to the low left for 3-2 just 35 seconds into the fourth.  But Oxbridge took momentum back a few minutes later as the offense wheeled the ball behind from left GLE to the right side and Blake Jerd took the Riccardo feed on the right wing for the step down and the right hand hit the top middle for 4-2 with 8:53 left.  Jupiter got 5 more shots on goal in the fourth but Tomei and the defense held on, setting up the clincher mentioned above. Oxbridge’s Murderer’s Row in Florida is now behind it.  Two MIAA games loom before the northern trip to Nease and Ponte Vedra, and it looks like the PV showdown will be worth the ticket price! Jupiter has their backyard brawl coming up with Benjamin on Monday night and accompanies Oxbridge to Nease and Ponte Vedra.  There’s also road games lurking with STA and SA later in the season. Mano to mano last night and the Jupiter offense with the slight blink and it made the difference.     Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  Jupiter 6-6 Shots:  Jupiter 31-27 Shots on Goal:  Jupiter 20-15 Turnovers:  Oxbridge 13-10 Penalties:  Oxbridge 6-2   Individual Statistics   Oxbridge Connor Davies and Reece Riccardo with 1G/1A each Jerry Annunziata, Jack Kilian and Blake Jerd with 1G each Christian Tomei with 18 saves   Jupiter Trevor Sousa and Kenny Cronin with 1G each Riley Quinn and Hunter Bracci with 10 saves combined   Thanks to Coach O’Hara and Coach Ross for talking to me before and after the game