Cedar Rapids Rampage display all-around dominance in seventh-straight win

CEDAR RAPIDS — Even with a franchise-record win streak, players for the Cedar Rapids Rampage insisted the best was yet to come.

With five wins by two scores or less, the club felt a dominant performance on both ends of the field was imminent.

It arrived on New Year's Eve.

Cedar Rapids player-coach Hewerton Moreira tallied four goals and three assists as the Rampage routed the expansion Florida Tropics, 13-2, in a Major Arena Soccer League game Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'We've been working extremely hard and we've been sweating the details,' Moreira said. 'We try and think step by step. … We're trying to win our individual battles, but also to be very good in our system. We're trying to make our system offensively and defensively better. We're trying to perfect every little aspect of the game.'

The victory is the seventh in a row for Cedar Rapids (8-2), which remained in first place in the Central Division. With 13 goals, the Rampage established a single-game franchise scoring record. The team scored 12 times in a win at Harrisburg last season.

Much of the game was the Moreira and Jonatan Santos show. The Brazil natives either assisted or scored five of the first eight goals for Cedar Rapids. Santos scored two of the first three goals and his two assists pushed his season total to 12 this season, which ranks third in the MASL.

'We have the experience of playing together,' Santos said of his chemistry with Moreira. 'He brought me here because he believed in me. … Before, I just played defense. Now he's putting me in to play power play, defense, corner kick, free kick. I'm so happy.'

Rookie goalkeeper Brett Petricek was brilliant again for Cedar Rapids as he secured 15 saves and held Florida (3-7) scoreless over the entire second half. The scoreless streak started during the last minute and a half of the second quarter, when Petricek and the Rampage defense made sure their 6-2 lead made it into the halftime locker room despite being on the wrong end of a 5-on-3 Florida power play.

'When I see that our offense is clicking, I know that we have that extra energy on defense,' Petricek said. 'It just boosts my confidence to know that we're going to have that energy to block shots to work for each other, and then when I need to make a save, I'm there.'

Midfielders Gordy Gurson and Angel Curiel, as well as rookie forward Derek Huffman, were each credited with two goals. Cedar Rapids closed the game with nine unanswered goals, including seven in the second half.

Cedar Rapids hosts second-place Chicago (5-2) this Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Mustangs are the only team to defeat the Rampage this season with a pair of one-goal defeats on consecutive nights in mid-November.

'It's really important for us to come focused, come prepared to play from the get-go,' Moreira said. 'Chicago is a team that we can't turn off in the middle of the game because they are dangerous.'

AT U.S. CELLULAR CENTER

Cedar Rapids 13, Florida 2

Florida 1 1 0 0 — 2

Cedar Rapids 2 4 4 3 — 13

First Quarter — Scoring:

1. Cedar Rapids: Jonatan Santos (Hewerton Moreira), 0:30. 2. Cedar Rapids: Derek Huffman (Sam Guernsey), 10:33. 3. Florida: Anthony Arico, 10:51.

Second Quarter — Scoring:

4. Cedar Rapids: Santos 2 (Moreira), 2:22. 5. Cedar Rapids: Gordy Gurson (Pablo Da Silva), 4:42. 6. Florida: Marco Rodriguez (Arico), 4:59. 7. Cedar Rapids: Tony Walls (Bobby Hurwitz), 6:38. 8. Cedar Rapids: Moreira (Santos), 8:06 (PP).

Third Quarter — Scoring:

9. Cedar Rapids: Moreira 2 (Patrick Kelly), 2:10. 10. Cedar Rapids: Moreira 3 (Santos), 9:20. 11. Cedar Rapids: Angel Curiel (Moreira), 11:54. 12. Cedar Rapids: Huffman, 14:00.

Fourth Quarter — Scoring:

13. Cedar Rapids: Gurson 2 (Da Silva 2), 7:48 (PP). 14. Moreira 4 (Gurson), 10:28 (PP). 15. Cedar Rapids: Curiel 2, 10:57.

Goalies —

Florida: Piotr Sliwa 20-7, Cedar Rapids: Brett Petricek 17-15. Shots on goal — Florida 8-4-2-3—17, Cedar Rapids 5-5-7-3—20.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com