Box Score ![]()
WINTER PARK - In Florida Southern's biggest game of the year, Florida Southern's biggest names all stepped up. In the Moccasins' second chance at a conference championship, it was a couple of second chances that put them in that position. But when Friday night's game came down to one final shot, the Mocs made the most of that too.
With Princess Haley scoring two goals in regulation, and Erin Hopkins heading home the game-winning goal in the second overtime, Florida Southern pulled out a 3-2 win over Tampa in the Sunshine State Conference semifinals. It sends the Moccasins (14-4) into the SSC championship game for the first time in team history and all but secured a high seed in next week's NCAA South Region Tournament.
The Moccasins will face Saint Leo in Sunday's conference championship game at 1:00, with the game being played at Rollins College. The Lions advanced to the finals by virtue of a penalty kick tie-breaker in their semifinal game vs. Rollins. Saint Leo and Rollins had played to a 1-1 tie before Saint Leo won the tie-breaker 3-1.
Florida Southern had three forwards and one midfielder on this year's All-SSC team, and all four of them were involved in the winning goal Friday night. It came with just 23 seconds on the clock and gave the Mocs their second overtime win of the season.
After regulation had ended in a 2-2 tie, Tampa (12-6-2) had been dominating the overtime periods. The Spartans out-shot the Moccasins 4-1 in the first overtime, and had a 3-0 advantage in the second until the final two minutes. The Mocs finally got a chance with 1:36 remaining, but a shot by Haley under pressure at the top of the box was well off the mark and gave the ball back to Tampa.
The Spartans were unable to hold it though, as the Moccasin defense won it back and mounted another attack down the right wing. Linda Hoglund ended up with the ball in the right corner and out-worked a Tampa defender to reach an open space near the end line. Hoglund then got the ball to Liz Gorman, who in turn got it to Haley inside the six-yard box at the near post. Again under pressure, Haley sent the ball in the air to the far post where Hopkins came in to finish the play with a strong header into the net.
The goal was the 12th of the season for Hopkins and it gave her a school-record 35 points for the season. She entered the game with 31 points, but picked up two assists in the first half to tie the previous record set by Hoglund last year.
"We had three goals coming into this season we set way back in August," said coach Ben Strawbridge. "We wanted to finish top three in the conference: check. We wanted to know we were in the NCAA Tournament before we even played in the SSC Tournament: check. And we wanted to win at least one game in the conference tournament: check."
Before Friday, the Mocs had never won a game in the SSC Tournament. Then again, they'd never been in this position as the league's #2 seed, a position where teams are expected to win, and one they earned by going 7-1 through one of the most difficult leagues in the country.
"This team set some goals that were going to be difficult to reach, but that says a lot about these players. They picked those type of goals and have met every one of them."
When Friday's game began, it was Tampa that had the early advantage, taking control right from the kickoff. For nearly three minutes, the Spartans maintained possession, with most of it on the Florida Southern side of the field. Twice during that time, Samantha Kay found room for shots, but one was easily saved by Martina Tangen Billing and the other went just wide.
The Moccasins finally mounted their first attack in the fourth minute and it turned into their first goal. Bringing it down the left flank, Alex Hoover got the ball to Hopkins in good position for a shot, but Hopkins instead sent the ball into the middle for Haley. The Spartans may have been crossed up on the play, as Haley had an open shot from the middle of the box and converted it for her team-record 12th goal of the season.
The Spartans tied the game in the 25th minute when Brittney Evans scored from the top center of the box after taking a short pass from Brittan Spence. After two more Tampa shots, Florida Southern re-grouped and nearly reclaimed the lead in the 39th minute when Hopkins hit one off the crossbar. The ball bounced back down to the field and UT goalkeeper Kendall Bourdon had to go to her left to bat it away from the net. Kay then stepped in to clear it out of further danger and keep the game tied at one.
It didn't stay tied much longer though when Haley scored a second-chance goal after a big save by Bourdon. The initial shot came from Hopkins at close range, but Bourdon's diving save deflected it wide. She had no chance to recover before Haley knocked the loose ball into the net with 1:11 remaining in the first half.
The score remained 2-1 until the 75th minute when unfortunate circumstances allowed the Spartans to tie it. A shot by Courtney Evans from outside the box started it, and Tangen Billing was forced into a difficult save when the ball deflected off a Moccasin defender. As the ball rolled wide of the net, the Moccasins were called for a foul inside the box, giving the Spartans a penalty kick. Megan Tobin took it and knotted the score at two apiece.
If the Mocs were rattled, they didn't show it. Five minutes later, after the Spartans were called for a foul deep in the right corner, the Mocs nearly went back on top. Gorman's free kick was sent perfectly across the box to Hopkins, whose header was on target but saved by a Tampa defender right on the goal line. Hopkins would later have another shot on a free kick in the 82nd minute, but neither team could score again in regulation play.
In the first overtime, Tampa again came out strong with two corner kicks in the first minute. Each time though, it was Christina Crooks who denied the Spartans a shot by breaking up the play in the air. That kept the Mocs alive and Emily Griffith nearly ended the game in the 93rd minute when she rattled the crossbar from outside the box.
The Spartans would then take four shots in the final three minutes of the first overtime, including one by Sara Belsole from the right wing that rolled wide of the left post with six seconds remaining.
In the second overtime, the Spartans kept up the pressure with three more shots, but all of them were saved by Tangen Billing. The freshman goalkeeper finished with seven saves in the match.
The winner of Sunday's game between Florida Southern and Saint Leo receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament, though its likely the loser will earn an at-large bid along with both Rollins and Tampa.
UT   1  1  0  0   -  2
FSC 2  0  0  1   -  3
SCORING: FSC--Haley (Hoover, Hopkins), 3:18; UT--B. Evans (Spence), 24:33; FSC--Haley (Hopkins), 43:49; UT--Tobin (penalty kick), 74:16; FSC--Hopkins (Gorman, Haley), 109:37. SHOTS: UT 22, FSC 14. CORNER KICKS: UT 6, FSC 0. SAVES: UT 3 (Bourdon 2, TEAM 1), FSC 7 (Tangen Billing). FOULS: UT 22, FSC 17. CAUTIONS: White (UT), 28:51; B. Evans (UT), 62:00; Maria Mohammed (UT), 79:18; Griffith (FSC), 92:49.
