Jefferson ran out of gas in its second game of the day against No. 7 Johnston in its 3-0 loss at Kingston Stadium Saturday.

Coach John O’Connor said he could see the J-Hawks' fitness start to become an issue in the first game of the day, a 2-1 loss to No. 11 Urbandale.

"Our first game today, we came out of the gate really well and moved the ball very efficiently and as we got tired we stopped doing those runs," O’Connor said.

So when the J-Hawks had to take the field again about two hours later, they were still dragging a little.

"We were tired from the first whistle and when you are tired, your passes aren't there, your runs aren't there and since we are learning a new system on top of that we looked very unorganized there for a while," O’Connor said.

But the tired play from the J-Hawks also gave new starting keeper Andrew Patience a chance to shine, making several acrobatic saves and keeping Jefferson in the game until Johnston snuck in two goals in the final 12 minutes for the final 3-0 margin.

"Andrew Pactience is a great goal keeper,” O’Connor said. “He is one of those guys I don't have to worry about as far as spending time in practice teaching him positioning. He is very acrobatic, he is not afraid to come out of the box and use his feet."

While that willingness to come out of the box aggressively sometimes makes coaches and teammates alike nervous, Patience knows what he is doing outside of the penalty box. Last season, when Patience was the backup keeper, he was a valuable player in the field for the J-Hawks.

"Really, he could play any position for us as a starter,” O’Connor said. “He has tremendous ball skills, he understands the game and what each position's job is, but for us he is our goalie."

Game 1
Urbandale 2, Jefferson 1

CRJ goal -- Esam Al-Yasseri.

Game 2
Johnston 3, Jefferson 0