Ionia put in a very good performance tonight en route to a solid 3-0 win for their fourth clean sheet of the season. The players were all on the same page tonight and when they play like this they are a really tough side to play against. The way they played tonight, with and for each other, was very enjoyable to watch.

In the first half both teams were looking to make a breakthrough. Ionia had the bulk of the chances throughout the half but still struggled to find that elusive first goal. Deep into the half Devon Reyes put Zane Sarka through on goal as they pushed through the defense to find that first goal of the game. The first half would end without any further goals but there was still plenty of good action and we were confident that we could continue our good form into the second half. 

We talked about finishing stronger than we started and I think we accomplished that. In the second half we possessed the ball better and combined really well by finding our passing lanes. Our defense did a great job of defending but also of building the play from the back which really supported our attack. Midway through the second-half, Sarka pounced on a ball played by their defence and returned the favor for Reyes to score as he broke the defensive line. 2-0. In the closing minutes of the game on another ionia attack, Gage Flanner lofted a ball toward the goal and Alex Barr slipped through an unaware defense to control the ball and slide it around the keeper for the first goal of his HS career, our third and final on the night.   

Next up: Away at Hastings - Saturday, Sept. 24. JV @ 10am, Varsity @ 11:30 pm (Parents Transport)

Stats at a Glance
Ionia 3 - St. Johns 0
Shots: 8

Goals:
Zane Sarka 1
Devon Reyes 1
Alex Barr 1

Assists:
Devon Reyes 1
Zane Sarka 1
Gage Flanner 1

Kyle Jones - 6 saves 

Overall Record: 9-2-1
Conference Record: 2-1-1