When Sampson Huston has the ball at his feet and the goal in front of him, he knows what to do.

Huston scored seven goals Saturday to help the 6U Coed White Tigers defeat the Hawks, 9-7, at Youth Sports Inc. fields.

While Huston took care of the offensive load for the White Tigers, Savannah Batman and Cailey Occhipinto anchored the defense to limit the Hawks’ scoring.

Their strong defense led to counter attack breakaways for easy scores. The speed of the White Tigers was too much for the Hawks to handle.

The first game of the season for both teams started off slowly. The teams battled back and forth trying to establish team chemistry.

The White Tigers were the first team on the board with a goal by Occhipinto.

The Hawks quickly bounced back with a goal by Cameron Hodge, but the game didn’t stay tied for long.

Huston scored his first two goals of the game followed up with a goal by Ting Ting Shi of the Hawks. Shi’s goal brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the White Tigers.

Both teams scored multiple goals throughout the rest of the first half, leaving the score 5-4 at the break.

The Hawks trailed 8-4 late in the second half only to rally behind two goals by Hodge and one goal by Jackson Hoy. But the Hawks couldn’t keep up their energy, and control of the game went back to the White Tigers.

Hawks teammates Ting Ting Shi, left, and Murphy Movsovitz, center, defend against Sampson Huston of the White Tigers on Saturday at Youth Sports Inc.

The White Tigers put the cap on the Hawks’ rally when Huston scored with less than two minutes left in the game. The ninth goal was too much for the Hawks to overcome.

Despite the loss, Murphy Movsovitz and David Gates of the Hawks played great defense to keep the game within two goals.