Orlando SeaWolves take down Florida Tropics in local derby
Orlando SeaWolves traveled to Lakeland on Saturday night to resume battle with local MASL rivals the Florida Tropics and thanks to hat tricks from Gordy Gurson and Eduardo Cruz too a decisive 10-6 victory.
“Any time you’re getting a win, you’re happy,” Head Coach Tom Traxler said after the game. “Getting a win that gets us to 5-5 was massive tonight, against a team that in the Florida Tropics, that we knew would come out all guns blazing.”
Orlando started well as they took an early 2-0 lead with goals from Osvaldo Rojas and Mario Alvarez. Gordy Gurson then added a third before Florida finally got on the score sheet late in the second quarter as Andre Brathwaite fired home from distance.
Half Time: Florida Tropics 1 Orlando SeaWolves 3
The action picked up in the second half as the home side began to push for more goals. Gurson added his second on the night to give the SeaWolves a 4-1 lead just a minute into the third quarter but the lead was soon cut back to a single goal as the Tropics pulled back two in quick succession by the middle of the third quarter through goals by Caio Ruiz and Antonio Manfut.
The visitors came right back though and scored three goals in a row, thanks to Alvarez, Eduardo Cruz, and Gurson (pictured above) completing his hat-trick, opening up a 7-3 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
Florida continued to push their way back into the game, scoring two goals (Victor Parreiras & Braithwaite) halfway through the last period to cut it to a two-goal deficit. Cruz then added another for Orlando as the Tropics were forced to play with a field player rather than their goalkeeper but Florida showed they weren’t done for the night as they pulled another goal back, as Ruiz added his second of the night, just seconds later.
Orlando then went in for the kill and further goals from Thiago Freitas and Cruz, for his first ever MASL hat-trick, within a 20-second span, gave the visitors a convincing 10-6 victory.
Full Time: Florida Tropics 6 Orlando SeaWolves 10
The SeaWolves now play their next two games on the road, playing on Friday, February 22nd at St. Louis Ambush, then on Sunday 24th against the Kansas City Comets. The Tropics next game is also on the road as they also travel to St. Louis Ambush to play on Sunday 24th.
More photos at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
