Viera tops Jensen Beach in SFIA action
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
SFIA District 8 rivals Viera and Jensen Beach squared off last night for the second time this season. Viera came out hungry looking to avenge a 10-8 loss at Jensen Beach earlier in the season. Viera entered the game 11-1, while Jensen beach was undefeated at 11-0.
Viera got on the board first when midfielder Zack Zippi scored off a hard split dodge down the right side at 7:37 of the first quarter. One minute later, midfielder Austin Wear put the ball in the back of the cage to put the Hawks up 2-0. Wear, a sophomore, also led the team with 11 ground balls on the night.
Jensen Beach Goalie, Kevin Wigley was flagged for a push with possession at the start of the second quarter. Kevin Rodier bounced a shot past the backup goalie at 10:36 to put the Hawks up 3-0. At 2:53, Viera was flagged for a hold and Jensen Beach Attackman Ian Gasiorek capitalized on their man-up with a nice face dodge and shot from the wing. Viera answered with a goal from Michael Alvarez at 9:10 to put Viera up 4-1 going into half-time.
Jensen Beach came out of half-time ready to push the ball in transition. Midfielder, Matt Rexford did not waste any time scoring 29 seconds into the third quarter. Jensen cut the lead to 4-3 with a goal from attackman Seth McCabe at 9:24. The Viera defense tightened up for the remainder of the game with strong play from Matt Banks, Matt Batton, and Chris Crawford. The Viera offense also kicked into gear with a fast break goal from midfielder Chris Jones at 6:27. Jensen Beach was flagged for cross check at 4:57. The Viera man-up moved the ball well with Alavrez feeding cross crease to Rodier to put the Hawks up 6-3.
Jensen Beach continued to put pressure on the Viera defense. Senior goalie Kevin Peer was solid in goal with 8 second half saves and 14 saves on the night. Ryan Rupp scored the final goal of the fourth for Jensen Beach at 6:54. Viera slowed the game down with a ball control offense, which allowed the Hawks to run the clock out securing a 6-4 victory.
Wigley finished with 8 saves in goal for Jensen Beach. Viera’s Zippi played solid midfield defense along with fellow middies Connor Payne and Eric Reinhardt.