All Photos Courtesy of Ray DiMonda Surging Fleming Island cruised to a 15-3 victory over visiting Mandarin Thursday night, fueled by a suffocating defensive effort and a double hat trick by junior Hayden LaVangie. The three goals allowed were a season-low for the Golden Eagles, who shut out the Mustangs in the first half while taking an 8-0 lead. Fleming Island’s man-to-man defense was especially dominant during the second quarter, allowing only three shots. “We’ve gone back to basics,” explained Fleming Island coach Jeff LaVangie. “We’re just telling the boys to know who their man is and stick with him.” The return of junior Jaren Szafranski, who had missed six games with a broken thumb, has helped. “It’s a huge difference,” said LaVangie. Led by Hayden LaVangie, who scored six goals for the second game in a row, the Fleming Island offense is improving as well. The Golden Eagles have notched 33 goals in their past two games. The passes are more accurate, resulting in fewer turnovers. Early in the season, most of the Golden Eagles goals were scored off of individual moves. Thursday, there were assists on nine of the fifteen goals. “We want ball movement and body movement,” said Jeff LaVangie. “We’ve slowly been doing better at that.” The Mustangs got goals from Tim Lynch, Casey Connell and Johnny Dister. Mandarin goalie Brent Gordon had twelve saves, while his counterpart, Fleming Island’s Ryan Kelly had 10. The Golden Eagles, now 6-4, put their three-game winning streak on the line next Wednesday, April 9 when Fleming Island hosts Bishop Snyder. Mandarin, who has lost three in a row, falls to 7-6, and travels to Tallahassee Leon on Friday, April 4.