UNIONVILLE — The Forrest Rockets scored four minutes into the game and maintained their lead the rest of the way as the Rockets defeated the Community Vikings 2-0 in a District 6-A soccer contest Tuesday night.
With the help of a strong wind blowing out of the south, the Rockets had the advantage with field position in the first half.
Forrest scored the lone goal in the half as Isaiah Haacke found the back of the net with an assist from Chris Davis to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead.
"The early goal allowed our players to settle in and execute the game plan that we practiced," Coach Jason Ellis of the Rockets said.
The rest of the half saw several scoring opportunities by both teams, but neither team could salvage a goal as the goalkeeping by Reily Anica of the Vikings and Josh Rumley of the Rockets took center stage.
Community (2-1-1, 0-1) saw an improvement in field position after the teams changed sides of the field in the second half, but the Vikings could not close the door on a couple of close chances in the 53rd and 63rd minutes as the Rockets held on to the lead.
The Rockets connected for an insurance goal in the 68th minute as Jamie McDaniel scored with an assist from Hugo Pessler to give Forrest a 2-0 lead and close out the scoring for the game.
It was a game of catch up for the Vikings and Coach Jesse Cooper after the early Forrest goal.
"Forrest also wanted it more and was the more aggressive team," Cooper said.
"We coached our defense to be aggressive and hyperaware of the give-and-go's and the overlap passing that Community excels at," Ellis said.
The win put the Rockets at 3-0 in the district race after wins against the other three teams in the first go-around.
"We are 3-0 for the first time in recent memory in the district," Ellis said.  "I'm very proud of how the team is playing and I'm excited for our future."   
Both teams return to action on Thursday. 
Community will travel to Cascade for a District 6-A game while Forrest hosts Agathos.                
                                                                            
Forrest            1  1 — 2
Community     0  0 — 0
 
First Half
F— Izaiah Haacke goal from Chris Davis (4th minute).
Second Half
F — Jamie McDaniel goal from Hugo Pessler (68th minute).