Quality often beats quantity, which is what happened on a chilly Monday night at Tony McKenna Field when the Mariner Tritons edged Fort Myers 1-0 in boys' soccer action.
Senior Kyle Turner's goal about 10 minutes into the second half proved to be the game-winner with an assist from Juan Rincon. Rincon, a junior, started the Tritons' counterattack in the middle of the field, drawing the center defender out of position and delivering a pass to Turner on the left side. After two touches inside the penalty box, Turner beat the goalkeeper one-on-one for the score.
"Fort Myers had the upper hand in shots on goal all night, but nothing too dangerous," said Tritons coach Martin Cardenas. "Our defense played very well and the pressure didn't allow them to get too comfortable with their shots."
Tritons goalkeeper Matt Brust made 12 saves to preserve the victory.
"That was the best night Matt has had in goal that I have seen," said Cardenas. He is really coming into his own as a keeper."
The Green Wave enjoyed a 2-to-1 advantage in shots on goal in both halves, but it was the Tritons who had the more quality shots.
In the first half, Colt Masters sent a 30-yard free kick over the defense that was knocked down by the Wave keeper. Turner was in the right place at the right time to knock it in from point-blank range, but his shot hit the keeper in the midsection as he was diving to make the save.
Turner again had a close-range shot gobbled up by the keeper with 15 minutes left in the first half. Masters attacked from the right side and got off a rocket shot that hit the outside of the right goal post.
"Fort Myers played well all night," said Cardenas. "We got lucky, too. They had a couple balls hit the post, and a couple went our way."
Though District 4A-11 rivals, Monday's game did not count in the district standings. Only the first meeting, won by Green Wave 4-0, counted.
"This was a good win for us mentally before the district tournament," said Cardenas. "We knew they are not four goals better than us."
The Tritons (9-7-2) have two district matches left this week, Tuesday with Lemon Bay and Friday with Cape Coral, both at Tony McKenna Field.
Cape Coral 2, Riverdale 0: After a scoreless first half, Cape High rang up two goals to put away Riverdale.
Caio Amaral and Fabian Fajardo scored the second-half goals for the Seahawks. Goalkeeper Daniel Villamil only had to make three saves to preserve the shutout victory.
The Seahawks visit Ida Baker Wednesday for a District 4A-11 match.
