Above – Rob Peeters was finding good looks like this much of the night- All photos are courtesy of Joe Weinstein – to see more of his photos please go to http://jweinsteinphoto.com Ponte Vedra won the opening face off and it only took 40 seconds for Miles Silva to take a feed right down the string line from Rob Peeters to put the Sharks up 1-0. Winter Park won the next face off and Thatcher Clark was able to find Ryan Hill cutting through the middle and he made a nice catch and shot to tie it up at 1:15 into the game.  It looked like we were going to have a shootout.

It was nice to actually watch a referee crew who understands what a fast restart is.  Both teams would benefit from the restart rules and take advantage of those dangerous midfield restarts.  PV struck first on a whistle at midfield that resulted in a change of possession.  Ponte Vedra picked up the ball and the whistle blew.  Winter Park was caught a little flat footed and a long pass found Mile Silva for his second goal to put PV back on top 2-1. The next couple of minutes got a little bit sloppy as both teams traded turnovers until the Wildcats got flagged for slashing 4:09 into the quarter. Miles Silva got his hat trick off of a quick pass from Reid Smith on an EMO that lasted only a few seconds.

The Sharks were able to get loose in the middle and make catches in traffic when it looked like Winter Park had pretty good defense working.  Just about halfway through the first quarter Park Blin fed the ball into the middle and found Ben Buchanan who made a great catch and shot to give PV a 4-1 lead and the wind started to come out of the Wild Cats. Reid Smith, Rob Peeters, and Eric Applegate all scored goals in the next five minutes to give PV a 7-1 lead as the first quarter come to a close.  Smith’s goal was a nice move at GLE that found him tip toeing around the crease to finish with low underhand shot. Early in the second quarter LSM Dylan O’Shea took a nice feed down the middle in traffic to score right on the crease to make it 8-1.

Not long after that goal the PV offense began to really get hot and the ball movement was very fast.  Rob Peeters was repeatedly found open on the island but Nick Beattie came up huge for Winter Park making four saves in a row.  However, as everything seemed to go right for PV, Miles Silva was in the right spot to scoop up a busted clear and got the ball to Peeters who finished to make it 9-1. Reid Smith continued to wreck havoc in the WP defense and showed why he is a young player to watch as he scored again on a great move driving from below GLE to finish on another low shot to make it 10 for Winter Park.

Thatcher Clark got the ball and was determined to make a move to the cage.  He made a fantastic effort dodging and then a re-dodge getting his hand free to make a nice shot to make it 10-2 and he drew a flag for a late hit. The Wildcats could not convert on the EMO as they turned it over and Rob Peeters scored on a nice move from the wing to make it 11-2 on an assist by Eric Applegate. Ponte Vedra nearly made it 12 as time expired in the first half but Nick Beattie came up huge again and made a great save to finish the half on a high note for Winter Park.

Action slowed in the second half as both teams were clearly focused on possessing the ball.  Winter Park looked much better in the second half as they controlled the ball better and limited the turnovers.  They scored three more goals.  Thatcher Clark scored two more times, once on an EMO when he took a nice feed from Alex Greer and another unassisted. On one of those fast midfield restarts Andrew Sapache took a pass from from a fast thinking Alex Greer and scored one for Winter Park. Rob Peeters scored three more for PV and Miles Silva added two more with Logan Toucher adding one. The final was 18-5. My takeaways from this game 1- This is the best Ponte Vedra team I have ever seen.  Offensive Coordinator, Cameron Mann, has this unit playing at a very high level.  Cameron Mann was a four year captain at JU and was the first JU player every drafted into the pros. If they remain unselfish and focused on this fast team offense they are going to be very difficult to slow down.

2- Miles Silva should be in the conversation when anyone talks about the best attackmen in the state.  He has grown into a force on the offensive end of the field. 3- Winter Park is a good team and should not be overlooked due to this score.  Ponte Vedra can put up big numbers on a lot of teams. 4- Colin Peaks looks very athletic.  He’s fast and confident with the ball and makes sharp flat outlet passes.  He finished with 8 saves on the evening. 5 – Nick Beattie is a very good goalie.  He finished the game with 15 saves, quite of a few of those were tough ones. 6 – Thatcher Clark is a fast player, good shooter, and has a lot of heart. 7 – After this game it’s very likely that every other offense is going to look like they are playing in slow motion to the Winter Park defense.  I’m anxious to see how they bounce back. 8- Ponte Vedra is loaded.  So many players that stand out.  Applegate, Toucher, Welch, Smith, Silva, O’Shea, Harding.  Defensively they are very solid and workman like.  They just never put themselves in position to have to make huge defensive plays.  They ride so hard they very rarely allowed WP to get the offense working.