The Spartans, fresh off their 3rd place finish in last week’s tournament, took their 5-1 record into this week’s tournament and squared off against the Cy Creek Coyotes on Thursday.

vs. Cy Creek

Unfortunately, the boys did not bring the same game that they had last weekend and would struggle throughout this tournament. Turnovers were the real problem as they came early and often. Luke Barber was able to get the Spartans on the board first with a quick goal just over one minute into the game. The Spartans would get off several other good shots in the quarter but none would find the net, and a defensive lapse allowed Cy Creek to score their own goal on a free shot from 5m closing the quarter in a 1-1 tie.

The 2nd quarter would see the Spartans continue to turn the ball over and would see a turnover lead to a quick counter by the Coyotes that resulted in an easy point-blank goal. Nathan Moss would make his return to the pool felt as he scored his first goal of the season on a 5m shot, while Luke Barber would also shove one in the net to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead that could have been more if the Spartans had taken better care of the ball.

The 3rd quarter would see the Spartans commit another early turnover that led to a quick Coyotes goal in which they tied the game. The Spartans would quickly answer as Marin Pavlin hustled to get a good goal, and then late in the quarter Julian Hemmer would get on the board to give the Spartans a 2-goal lead. Another defensive lapse gave the Coyotes another free shot from 5m, which they converted.

The fourth quarter would see Nathan Moss score again to extend the Spartan lead to 2, and the boys would hold on for a not-so-pretty 6-5 victory. This, unfortunately, would be the high point of the weekend.

vs. Foster

The second game would see the Spartans square off against the Foster Falcons, but unfortunately it would see the turnover trend worsen. The boys would turn the ball over 6 times and commit 2 exclusion fouls that gave the Falcons one 6-on-5 advantage, which they converted into a goal and one 5m goal. The turnovers did not allow the boys to get off many shots, and so the boys were only able to eek out a single Nathan Moss goal and go down 4-1.

The second quarter would see more of the same with Moss getting the lone goal and the boys going down 8-2 at the half.

The third quarter would see the defense tighten up and only allow one goal, but the turnovers continued to prevent the offense from getting on track, and so the teams traded goals and ended 9-3.

The 4th quarter would see both teams trade 2 goals each. Nathan Moss finished with 4 goals, and Luke Barber had the other one as the boys fell to the Falcons 11-5.

vs. Jersey Village

Saturday would see the Spartans have a rematch against the Jersey Village Falcons, whom they beat last weekend. Unfortunately, many of the troubles that surfaced on Thursday carried over to Saturday and the boys were not able to match their success from last weekend. The boys fell behind early and trailed at the end of the first, 3-1. They were never able to catch up. The second quarter matched the first quarter score, and the boys were down 6-2 at the half and eventually fell in the end 9-6. Luke Barber led the scoring for Stratford with 3 goals, Nathan Moss chipped in 2 goals, while Lucas Storey added the final goal.

vs. Brazoswood

The final game of the day would see the Spartans squaring off against the defending State Champs from Brazoswood. The Pirates demonstrated early why they are a favorite to repeat their State title and jumped out to an early lead that they would not relinquish. The boys did get a first-period goal from Luke Barber, but that would prove to be the lone goal of the half as they went into the intermission down 7-1. Brazoswood would continue to roll in the second half, eventually finishing with a 13-5 victory. Barber finished with 3 goals, and Ricky Conticello and Lucas Storey each added one goal apiece.

The Spartans will work hard this week and look to get things back on track next week when they travel to Pearland for the Purple Monkey Tournament that will once again feature some of the best teams in the State.