Dolphins hand Fort Walton first loss
. 2-1 win GBHS' fourth one-goal win of season
BY SCOTT PAGE Gulf Breeze News scott@gulfbreezenews.com

Chris Wilson (22) runs down a ball against Fort Walton Beach.

The GBHS boys soccer team rallied from a goal down to beat previously unbeaten Fort Walton Beach 2-1 at Dolphin Stadium on November 29.

Coach Bruce Savage was concerned about his team's long layoff between games. Those concerns seemed to be validated by his team's play for a little over half of the game.

"We didn't handle the ball well and maintain possession," Savage said.

Despite the Dolphins' sluggish play in the first half, there were several golden opportunities for them to break the game open early.

In the third minute, the Ft. Walton goalkeeper came out to challenge Brad Parrish, who had broke away from the defense. Just as Parrish was able to put his boot on the ball, a Ft. Walton defender came out of nowhere to deflect the ball away.

Three minutes later Tommy Gibble broke free into the box and miss-hit a shot that could have put the Dolphins in front. The game was a defensive struggle during the first half.

Just before halftime, in the 40th minute, Leland Davis caught the Ft. Walton goalkeeper out of position, sending a shot at the net. But the Vikings keeper would make and unbelievable diving save.

The game was scoreless at halftime, but the scoring began early in the second half.

Ft. Walton took a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute on a goal by center midfielder Sean Reynolds.

The Ft. Walton goalkeeper dodged several bullets throughout the course of the game, but his luck ran out shortly after his team went ahead. In the 58th minute, the Vikings keeper mishandled crossing pass and Tommy Gibble redirected the deflection into the net to tie the game.

Three minutes later, Brad Parrish put the Dolphins ahead for good when he sent a shot on goal from an impossible angle. The goalkeeper deflected the shot straight up in the air, but he was unable to control it as it fell. After being bobbled, the ball eventually found its way into the goal.

Ft. Walton didn't create any other serious threats on goal from that point on.

Dolphin defenders Christian Mauldwin, Josh Pagonis and Player of the Week Kyle Losoya, held the Viking attack in check. In the rare occasions when the defenders couldn't prevent a shot, goalkeepers Richard Benson and Tyler Willets gobbled them up and didn't allow any chances for goals off deflections.

"We will begin working on team fitness and ball handling tomorrow," Savage said. "Hopefully that will help us keep more possession and create more opportunities to sustain our attacks."

Dolphin JV 3,

Fort Walton Beach 0

Nick Green, Danny Gibble and Blake Trotter scored goals that were set up by Max Gerke, Mikey Green and Chance Winn.

The Dolphins will be in Tallahassee this weekend taking on Leon and Lincoln. The Leon games start Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time, with the Lincoln games starting at 11 a.m. Eastern Saturday.