By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

East St. John gave East Ascension everything it could handle in the first half of the teams’ Friday matchup.

But the Spartans were able to wear down the Wildcats after halftime, scoring five goals in the second half on the way to a 7-1 victory at East Ascension.

The Spartans substituted freely, taking advantage of its superior numbers, and were able to exhaust the Wildcat starters.

“They outran us,” said East St. John Coach Jason Beber. “They were able to keep fresh legs in the game. Eventually, we just couldn’t keep up.”

East St. John (4-2, 0-1) trailed 2-1 at halftime before the Spartan surge. East Ascension (4-5-5) scored the first goal of the game at the 20-minute mark, but East St. John’s Amber Remondet quickly answered with a goal of her own to tie the game.

East Ascension took a 2-1 halftime lead with a goal scored late in the first half. From there, the Spartans coasted.

“They’re very skilled,” said Beber of his opposition. “They made some mistakes even so. We didn’t have the legs left to take advantage of them.”

Beber said that the game provided a good learning experience to build on for his younger players.

“We did compete with them. Those goals didn’t come easy, our defense made them earn each one,” said Beber. Right now we’re going to be the underdog in these games, against some strong programs that have been around for years,” said Beber.

East St. John will next play its second district game at Dutchtown on Friday at 6 p.m.