Photos supplied courtesy of Connie Sartory! Top-ranked Jupiter handed traveling #7 Lake Mary their first loss of the season 11-4 Friday night.  After jumping out a 2-0 first quarter advantage Lake Mary was gradually worn down by a strong full-field defensive effort by Jupiter as their normally strong clearing game struggled at times and turnovers in the defensive zone eventually led to fast break opportunities and eventually to inopportune penalties.  A major factor in the game was Jupiter’s ability to take advantage on those penalties, as they converted on 4 of 8 man ups, while Lake Mary only converted on 1 of 7. Lake Mary came into the game with some injury issues and tried to slow the game down offensively while playing a zone on defense and the strategy worked for most of the first half.  But eventually the better depth of Jupiter paid off as they pulled away in the second half.  Turnovers were on the high side, partly because the field was very dry and ground balls proved elusive to scoop up.  Both starting goalies, Viper Scheele (who was relieved by back-up Tyler Kendrigan in the third) and Chandler Harrison, had nice games, but Scheele once again showed why he is so valuable, making some tough saves on LM’s man-up efforts, and giving Jupiter fast break opportunities with accurate long outlets. Lake Mary’s patience was effective in particular when it isolated on the right alley and there were a number of right wing dodges where they gained separation, but the shooting on those efforts tended to miss the net long side when the slide was late in coming.  A few of those finding net might have made a difference in how the second half played out.  Jupiter’s offense, due to the zone defense, relied more on outside shooting  and dodges off the fast breaks as they scored the 11 goals on only 3 assists, the opposite of their SA victory.  Zach Crotty (4G) and Jake Steiger (3G) combined for 7 goals, ALL unassisted, as they took advantage of most of their opportunities. In the end it played out like expected, the #1 team in the state showing off their talent and finding a way to win.     The game started slowly as the two teams traded possessions off 14 total turnovers in the quarter versus 11 shots.  Lake Mary finally broke through with 4:46 left as middie John Marmetschke took advantage of a quick restart, taking Zac Gussman’s cross-field feed to make it 1-0.  Gussman split two defenders going down the right side and Marmetschke shot it past Scheele’s left shoulder.  Following the next face-off win, LM gained a man-up and cashed in just 25 seconds later to make it 2-0.  Kevin Sande took a right crease feed after sneaking out from behind the net from Kurt Sisco and finished short-side at 4:21.  Just 1:01 later Jupiter’s Crotty answered with his first on EMO, after a face dodge on the right wing, firing home right-handed from 5 yards out and the first quarter ended 2-1. Jupiter jumped out quickly, tying and taking the lead in the second.  At 9:54 Crotty scored his second.  Michael Dean fed Crotty from right goal line extended and Crotty was able to step down on the right wing and beat Harrison high-to-high.  At 7:13 Jupiter took the lead on Steiger’s first, taking advantage of a fast break.  Connor Alexander led the break down the middle and fed Steiger alone on the right side and Steiger finished short side and it was 3-2.  Crotty then converted on a face dodge from the right wing to the middle with a bounce shot at 3:55 to make it 4-2.  Lake Mary was able to respond at 1:25, converting on Gussman’s left crease feed from Sande’s right alley dodge and it was back to a one-goal lead.  But after LM won the next face-off they turned it over to Alexander, who dashed down the middle and finished off the goal that seemed to take the steam out of Lake Mary with :55 left on the clock.  In discussions after game, Lake Mary coach Garrick Robinson pointed to that play as the one that was the game-changer and the two teams went to half-time with Jupiter leading 5-3. The second half was pretty much all Jupiter until the second half of the fourth when Jupiter took three consecutive penalties.  Lake Mary was hurt by a rash of penalties in the third and Jupiter took full advantage to put the game away.  Crotty started the run at 7:01 on one of the EMO’s, moving in from the right side off a re-start and finding the short side on a high-to-high rip.  He then followed up again at 3:17 unassisted another EMO, on a left-wing face dodge, beating Harrison low on the short side and it was 7-3.  Just 47 seconds later Ben White made a nice solo effort, cutting down the right alley and making his way to the middle before placing a left-handed shot to the far side at 2:30 to take the teams to the fourth at 8-3.     Jupiter continued the run 35 seconds into the fourth on another EMO as Steiger cut from the left wing to the middle and fired a 10-yard bounce shot for a 9-3 lead.  At 6:26 Lars Coughlin leaned in on the left wing and fired left-handed on a 4-3 fast break.  Alex Derrico finished it up at 1:11, taking a crease feed from Tommy Pinkham and finished high.  Lake Mary’s Marmetschke scored a consolation tally with 11 seconds left on a nice left wing dodge and finished right-handed low to make the final 11-4. Jupiter heads to spring break locked into the #1 position and when they come back they will be really tested as they host Vero Beach, Benjamin and Ponte Vedra in 4 days, starting 3/24.  Lake Mary returns to action on Monday as they travel to West Orange, site of last year’s Final Four. Thanks to Coach Robinson and Coach Loftus for talking to me before and after the game.   Team Statistics Faceoffs:  Jupiter 9-8 Shots:  Jupiter 32 – Lake Mary 25 Shots on Goal:  Jupiter 19 – Lake Mary 15 Turnovers:  Jupiter 25 – Lake Mary 19 Penalties:  Jupiter 7 – Lake Mary 8   Individual Statistics   Jupiter Zach Crotty  4G Jake Steiger  3G Connor Alexander  1G/1A Ben White, Lars Coughlin and Alex Derrico with 1G each Michael Dean and Tommy Pinkham 1A each   Lake Mary Josh Marmetschke  2G Zac Gussman  1G/1A Kevin Sande  1G/1A Kurt Sisco  1A   Viper Scheele and Tyler Kendrigan combined for 11 saves and Chandler Harrison saved 8 shots