By TAYLOR TUBBS
News-Sun correspondent
SEBRING - The cleats were thundering on Tuesday night at Firemen's Field as the Blue Streaks struck down the visiting Winter Haven Devils 3-0.
"This was a really good district win," said head coach Keith Bowyer. "This puts us at 3-0 in district."
Sebring got things going fairly early as Riley Watson got them on the board in the sixth minute of the game with a goal.
The winds were relatively calm for the rest of the first half as the teams bantered back and fourth without another goal being allotted.
However, the Streaks still had many close shots.
A corner kick by captain Jared Lang connected with a header by Watson for a near miss to the left of the goal.
With the addition of cross country runners just now beginning their soccer season, Sebring saw some fresh players on the field.
But it was one of those cross country runners, Eric Foster, who had a cross on goal near the 30 minute mark, and fellow runner Wesley Koning took a long range shot on goal less than two minutes later.
Going into the second half all the Streaks had to do was maintain their lead over the Devils, but they did much more than that.
It looked like they would add to the lead when Brian Dixon had a cross to Riley Watson.
It was a bit overshot, however, and Watson had multiple goal attempts as well.
The attempts would finally deliver in the final two minutes of the game, with back-to-back scores.
Watson was in close proximity to the goal at the right time, and simply had to tap the ball in as the goalie was further out on the field defending.
Less than a minute later Damian Foster, another cross country runner, would connect for the final goal of the night.
Sebring defense also had a strong night.
Keeper Ethan Smith had an easier night compared to Monday night's game against LaBelle where he had a number of hustling saves.
Tuesday night, however, the defense allowed him to relax a bit more with fewer shots on goal.
And when there were shots on goal, often times it was a defender knocking it away.
Such as a shot attempt that Damian Foster leapt and headed out of the goal.
Getting the win over a tough rival like Winter Haven was one thing, being able to do it while remaining fresh was another key to the night.
"I did a lot of subbing tonight to keep our legs fresh," Bowyer said. "Thursday we travel to Auburndale, and they're the team to beat."
That key district contest, as Bowyer alluded to, was Thursday night, check Sunday's News-Sun for a recap.
The Lady Streaks weren't as fortune Tuesday night at Winter Haven, suffering a 6-2 loss, and looked to regroup and get back on the winning track Thursday night at home against Auburndale.
Results of that match can also be seen in Sunday's News-Sun.
Friday, November 16, 2012 - www.newssun.com/FRI-11-16-12-SebSoccer