Saguaro scored 19 first-half goals Saturday and routed the Mesa Heat 24-8 in their first home game at Arcadia High.

The Sabercats (2-3) draw players from both Saguaro and Arcadia high schools and play home games at Saguaro. It didn’t take them long to make themselves at home at Arcadia, though, as they scored two quick goals in the game's first minute, both by Justin Straker.

The Sabercats never looked back from there, going on to score 11 goals in the first quarter. The Heat mustered four goals in the first quarter, three of them coming between the 5:52 and 3:54 mark, to cut the lead to 8-4.

The Sabercats then scored three goals in the final minutes of the quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same for the Heat, playing without goalie Quin Ficklin, out with a foot injury.

“Our offensive strategy is to run wild and shoot as quickly as we can, every possession,” said Brett Neal, Sabercats head coach. “We wanted to push the tempo and get into an offensive rhythm where the ball never stops moving. That style worked really well today as the [Heat] were off balance all game.”

Neal said the Heat battled without their starting goalie.

“They played tough,” Neal said. “It’s hard to deal with an injury to a main part of the team.”

By halftime, the Sabercats had stretched their lead to 19-6. At one point, the Sabercats’ Hayden Kimmel and David Cerna scored two goals in a minute’s time midway through the second quarter.

The Sabercats backed off in the second half and played defensively. The Heat, trying to persist through a stifling around-the-net defense, managed only six shots on net in the second half. Sabercats goalie Carter Jones finished with 11 saves for the game.

“Our defense played well today, but there is still a lot of room for improvement there,” Neal said. “Offense is where we thrive. Now if we can get our defense to match our offense, we will be in every game.”

The Sabercats lost three games to start the season and have since won two in a row.

“Today was a must win for us,” Neal said. “You can’t afford to start the season losing four of your first five games.”