BOYS SOCCER: Streaks blank Fort

FORT DEFIANCE - Harrisonburg did not wait long to punch its ticket to the next round of the Region III boys soccer tournament as the Streaks netted four first-half goals and kept the Indians off the board for all 80 minutes, winning 4-0.

The Streaks controlled the possessions early and, before long, Ivan Pina knocked a shot to the back of the onion bag just five minutes into the match. Ten minutes later, the Streaks were at it again, this time Peter Byrd struck for the quick 2-0 lead.

“We wanted to come out and play extremely hard. We came out and attacked and I thought our guys really put them on their heels,” said Harrisonburg coach Ted Erickson. “Seeing a team for the third time is really helpful. We knew which dangerous players they had and we wanted to keep them contained.”

Erickson wanted to keep both Ryan Tavernaris and Nathan Tavernaris from getting to the net, knowing both were very dangerous with the ball.

“Both Tavernaris boys are great players. I have a lot of respect for both of them,” Erickson said. “I challenged my team to stop the Tavernaris boys and to outwork the entire Fort Defiance team.”

The Streaks defense was able to keep the Indians frontline frustrated all evening and kept the Tavernaris brothers from getting to the net.

The Indians seemed shocked at the quick scoring from the Streaks and were fighting just to get chances on net. The Indians got their best chance to get on the board on a penalty kick, but Adam Powell’s shot sailed over the crossbar.

“They came out and got a quick one on us. I thought we had an opportunity on the penalty kick, and then they came down and scored on us again,” said Fort coach Brent Hull. “They out possessed us and they kept getting their forwards past our defense time and time again. They capitalized on their opportunities.”

The missed opportunity seemed to deflate any momentum the Indians were trying to gain and moments later Adrian Zamora put the biscuit in the basket for the 3-0 lead. The Streaks added another goal late in the first half as Arlington Cruz put in the dagger.

Fort played much better in the second half, but were unable to find the back of the net as the Region III ride ended for the Indians.

“We showed a lot of heart in the second half, but down four goals it is kind of hard to jump back in the game,” Hull said.

Harrisonburg will try to keep the season going tonight at Broadway against Lord Botetourt.