No matter who happened to be winning or losing, playing or sitting, the contagious sounds of laughter flooded the field Saturday morning when the 6U Sharks and Firehawks clashed at Youth Sports Inc.

While both teams displayed killer instinct at times, more often than not, players apologized for misplaced kicks or double-checked on injured opponents.

Despite being a friendly match, the Sharks and Firehawks pushed an up-tempo match, racing up and down the field.

“Our team was real aggressive and really attacked the ball,” Shark head coach Todd Hawkins said.

Hawkins and the Sharks found themselves in a 2-0 hole in the opening minutes of the game. The Firehawks” starting lineup of Nick Salvino, Camden Knupp and Ashley Winslow overwhelmed the Sharks with good spacing, excellent passing and strong kicks.

Salvino used his size, speed and a little luck to record an early goal for the Firehawks. Leading the pack at midfield, Salvino unleashed a cannon that landed square in the back of the Shark goal.

“That was one strong kick,” Firehawk head coach Justin Knupp said to an ecstatic Salvino.

The Sharks regrouped behind the feet of Nick Clancy and Kyle Abrahamson, who accounted for nine of the Sharks” goals.

Clancy broke up a throw-in for his first goal and tiptoed his way along the goal line for his highlight reel goal of the game. Clancy also assisted Harrison Hughes with a cross-field pass as Hughes completed the play with a convincing kick.

The Sharks' warm-up before the start of their game against the Firehawks must have helped them score 13 goals in their victory Saturday at Youth Sports Inc.

Abrahamson’s blazing speed and ball-handling abilities enabled him to score a game-high six goals. Abrahamson displayed his powerful leg after breaking up a Firehawk attack and sending a laser into the back of the goal.

The Sharks rode the strong defensive play of Kylee Hawkins to smother the Firehawks. Hawkins on several occasions retreated back to her goal to intercept a streaking Firehawk from putting a shot on goal.

On one occasion, Hawkins emerged with the ball from a group of Firehawk forwards and raced her way downfield to score an insurance goal.

The Sharks eventually wore down the Firehawk defense and went on to win 13-2.

While the score may not have been close between these two squads, there was not a frown to be found as players chewed on their post-game snacks. In only the second game of the season both teams talked about what they could improve upon for next game.