The Explosion lived up to its name on Saturday afternoon, erupting for seven second-half goals in a 10-2 victory over the Orange Crush in Parks and Recreation Department Indoor Soccer League action at Oakland Recreation Center. Justin Schleeper knocked in four goals for the green-shirted team, with Shea Ahlstead adding three. The win gave the Explosion (4-1) sole possession of first place.

Ahlstead got things rolling less than a minute into the game. Nicole Klee dribbled down the left side of the court and shot him a pass in the center. Without taking the time to dribble farther, Ahlstead slammed the ball into the right side of the Crush net. Before the orange team could react, Schleeper sneaked another goal into the net, and Ahlstead bashed in a third just before the five-minute mark.

After that, however, Crush goalkeeper Sarah Brooks shut down the &uot;explosive&uot; offense, stopping their next 13 shots and holding them scoreless for the remainder of the half. Meanwhile, Crusher Drew Wisniewski took a pass from Brooks and charged up the middle. After crossing midcourt, he collided with an Exploder, and the ball skittered to the left. Kathleen Sexton, who had been trailing Wisniewski, hurried forward for her team’s first goal, and the half ended with the Explosion up, 3-1.

At halftime, said Ahlstead, the team had a simple strategy. &uot;We just needed to get some more goals,&uot; said the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy student. &uot;We were hoping to wear them down so their defense would run out of steam.&uot;

The system worked in the second period. After Schleeper and Sexton scored for their respective teams, the Explosion’s scoreboard lit up. Mike Tackle found himself trapped in the right corner of the gym, but was able to slam a bouncing pass to Ahlstead, who headed it in. Schleeper scored on a breakaway, and Ahlstead sent two quick assists to Trip Eason for an 8-2 lead. Klee then scored her first goal, and Schleeper knocked in one more.

In earlier action, the Storm moved its record to 3-2 with a 15-4 defeat of the Thunder-cats. Andrew Beard and Megan Whitford kicked home four goals each, with Daniel Curran scoring three and DeShonna Smith and Chris Smith with two apiece. The win got the team back on track after two consecutive losses.