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Nick Rasek was in the right place at the right time for Palm Beach Atlantic, but as far as Florida Southern was concerned, there was nothing right about it. The reserve forward cashed in on the backside of a free kick late in the first half, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win by the Sailfish.
Statistically, the Moccasins (3-10) owned the game in every way but one, but it was the Sailfish (8-4-1) who found a way to score. After the Mocs were whistled for a foul at the top right corner of the box, Cheyne Roberts took the free kick for PBA. The ball made its way across the box, appearing to deflect off at least one player before arriving at the feet of Rasek. He converted the close-range shot for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Over the course of the night, Florida Southern out-shot Palm Beach Atlantic 14-6, including a 7-2 edge in the second half. The Sailfish were forced to play a man down for the final 20 minutes, and the Mocs had several chances after that. None was more promising than a shot ripped by Givi Kokaia in the 89th minute that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar before being cleared by the PBA defense.
"This was yet another game like so many this year, that we had a right to win," said Moccasin coach Hugh Seyfarth. "But we didn't convert some great chances in the first half and that came back to haunt us later."
The Mocs came out strong to start the game too, when Sebastian Haupt forced PBA goalkeeper Joe Yutchak into a diving save just 90 seconds into the match. Garrett Gaa had a chance on the rebound but his shot went high of the mark. Then, Yurchak attempted to clear another ball out of the box that was deflected by Haupt and nearly landed in the net. Yurchak was busy again in the 6th minute when Haupt, Kokaia and Patrik Dandanell worked the ball down the field, only to have the play broken up at the last moment by the Sailfish goalkeeper.
The Mocs then survived three straight corner kicks by the Sailfish in the 18th and 19th minutes, as well as a shot by Kyle Crouse at close range in the 29th. That one was saved by Paul DiPalma, and was the most dangerous chance the Sailfish had before scoring their goal.
"We played well tonight, but the first 25 minutes I was particularly impressed," said Seyfarth. "They took the things we had been talking about and made them work. We created the opportunities we were looking for, but again had trouble turning them into goals. We're just not finishing, but I thought we played like a team tonight and I was very pleased by that."
DiPalma had to make only the one save, as Florida Southern allowed only six shots. That was the lowest total for the Moccasin defense since they shut out Alabama-Huntsville on three shots in the second game of the season. Matt Macias made several big stops in the game, and Sebastian Bergh thwarted a good chance by PBA late in the first half when they used a throw-in to gain position deep inside the box.
"The back four was very, very good tonight," said Seyfarth. "Macias really shut down Crouse, who's been an outlet they like to use."
Florida Southern's next match will be on Friday, October 24, when the Moccasins host the University of Tampa in their final home game for the 2008 season. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
