Suffolk News-Herald

Goalkeepers young and old helped Nansemond-Suffolk Academy secure second place in the TCIS Thursday afternoon in a 13-4 victory over host Hampton Roads Academy. After senior Sam Markham shut down the Navigator offense with a perfect second quarter, his sophomore prot\u00E9g\u00E9 Matt Holloman held HRA out of the net for the third and half of the fourth period (by then, the Saints had a 10-goal lead).

Willis Taylor scored the first of his seven goals less than two minutes into the game, hurling in an assist from Kyle Jett. HRA quickly tied things up, but Ryland Gwaltney shot an assist to Taylor with four minutes left, and Jett fired one to Bobby Flintoff with 1:48 to go. HRA scored once more, but Markham became a wall for the rest of the half.

Taylor spurted an assist to Joe Vidarte to open the second period, and Jett scored an unassisted goal with 8:49 left. He scored again on a breakaway two minutes later.

Griffin Powell hurried down the right side of the field, and spotted an open Taylor near the left goal post. He flipped the ball to Taylor, and two HRA defenders rushed him. Just before they reached their prey, Taylor nipped in the shot for a 7-2 lead. Jett gave him another assist with 3:36 to play.

At the two-minute mark, Jett took the ball down the left sideline, and attempted to pass to Taylor near the post. At the last second, Vidarte charged through the middle, surprised the HRA defense by snaring the pass, and whipped the shot into the left side of the net.

Taylor won the ensuing face-off, ran down the middle of the field, and passed to Vidarte, who found a wide-open Flintoff for the half’s final score.

While Holloman fought off shot after shot in the third quarter, Flintoff fired three assists to Taylor for NSA’s final scores. The Saints will play their first TCIS tournament game Wednesday at home against Norfolk Academy, whom they defeated for the first time in school history on April 15.

The NSA girls squad also came out on top, defeating host Virginia Beach 14-7. Ellis Pretlow and Parris Grieder scored five goals apiece, and Courtney White had three assists. The Lady Saints play their final home game Tuesday against Maury.