Chris Smith had three goals and two assists and Andrew Beard knocked in three more as the Storm opened their Suffolk Parks and Rec. soccer league season with a 7-4 defeat of the Orange Crush Saturday at Mack Benn Recreation Center.

Smith, who will team with his older brother David on the Lakeland High School varsity soccer team next spring, wasn’t completely satisfied with his performance. &uot;I could have done better,&uot; said the sophomore Cavalier, &uot;but the rest of my team did really well. I think we’ll take the league championship this year.&uot;

After traipsing across the grassy field at Lakeland, the hard floors of Mack Benn take some getting used to, Smith continued. &uot;It’s a lot faster here. You have to have quicker reactions and a lot more endurance.&uot;

Dustin Poe got the Storm on the board 6:28 into the contest, as he knocked a David Gilmet pass into the right side of the Crush goal. Four minutes later, a shot by Smith hit the post and bounced back to Beard, who slammed it into the left side of the net.

Donald Parrott cut the lead in half at the 13:30 mark, but Smith and Beard knocked in three quick goals to grab a 5-1 lead at halftime.

Smith added another entry to the Storm scorebook three minutes into the second half, but the Crush made their first offensive move, as Parrott and Drew Wisniewski knocked in two goals in 50 seconds. But the Storm got one last score from the most unlikeliest of players, as goalkeeper Daniel Curran knocked a &uot;full court&uot; shot into the Crush goal, and the Crush could only manage one more score in the remaining time.