Box Score
SAINT LEO â€" When the first NCAA regional rankings were announced on Wednesday, the Moccasins were on the outside looking in at six teams in playoff positions ahead of them. Saturday night, however, they busted down the door, and by the end of the night they were pouring in through the windows too. Sparked by a brilliant goal from Renee Heacock, an amazing shot by Hanna Jansson, and a defense that wouldn’t buckle, Florida Southern downed Saint Leo, 4-1, making a statement for this week’s regional poll.
The South Region Tournament is still a few weeks away, but Saturday night’s win by Florida Southern (10-5-1, 6-1 Sunshine State Conference) could shake things up a bit. The Moccasins began the week #7 and Saint Leo was #5, with Nova Southeastern in between. The Sharks lost to Florida Tech on Saturday, further clouding the picture.
As far as the game at Saint Leo went, the Moccasins trailed 1-0 before scoring four unanswered goals to extend their unbeaten streak to six games. It also gave the Mocs their third straight 10-win season and secured at the very least, a first-round home game in the SSC Tournament. A first-round bye is still a possibility too, as is the conference title, depending on other results involving Florida Tech and Rollins.
Still, Saturday night’s score was a bit deceptive. It was a 2-1 game until the Mocs scored twice in the final five minutes.
Florida Southern’s comeback began with the combination of Alex Hoover and Renee Heacock. Awarded a free kick in the 43rd minute, the Mocs used Hoover to send it across the field off the right sideline. It was perfectly served for Heacock who rammed home a header in front of the far post to tie the game at one.
The Moccasins then used another free kick shortly after halftime to take the lead. This set play was fairly basic: a 30-yard shot by Jansson that was too high for Saint Leo goalkeeper Cristina Coca, yet low enough and pulled far enough to rocket into the upper left corner of the net.
The Lions (6-3-1, 3-3) were hardly deflated. If anything, they drove harder for an equalizer that ultimately never came. Despite the final score, the shot totals were identical (15 apiece), and until the final moments, the game could have gone either way.
Trailing 2-1, Saint Leo put steady pressure on Florida Southern for a significant stretch of the second half, but the Moccasin defense held its own. Whether it was a blocked shot, heading a corner kick out of danger, cutting off a run into the box, or winning a loose ball, the Mocs got all of it from Heacock, Ashlie Haas, Kristen Vollmer and Lexie Bottomley. They helped limit Saint Leo to only four shots on goal in the match, including one in the second half.
Eventually, the Mocs wore down a Saint Leo team that was missing a pair of starters and used only one substitute on what turned into a frigid night. When Bottomley pushed a ball down the right flank in the 85th minute, it looked like the Lions would turn it aside and re-group for another chance at the other end. Instead it turned into a Florida Southern goal when Princess Haley intercepted a back-pass intended for Coca, won the ball from the Saint Leo goalkeeper and tapped it into an open net for her ninth goal of the year. Hoover followed less than a minute later with another goal for the final 4-1 margin.
Scoring chances were equal in the early going, though it was Saint Leo that earned the first two shots. The Mocs countered with a pair of set plays, one a free kick by Jansson that was only a step too far for Kerri-Ann Brown at the back post, and one a corner kick by Jackie Bachteler that resulted in a shot by Jansson over the bar.
Following two more shots by Saint Leo, the Moccasins gained momentum midway through the first half and nearly scored a pair of goals in quick succession. Jansson got off another good shot in the 26th minute from inside the box, but had it blocked by Lions’ midfielder Kelli Jones, preventing an almost certain goal. The Mocs got the ball right back, but the Lions again dodged disaster when Haley hit the post.
Two corner kicks followed that, as well as a shot by Morgan Sammons, and through it all, Saint Leo was able to keep Florida Southern off the scoreboard.
Momentum then shifted to the Lions, who broke the scoreless tie in the 35th minute on a shot by Pia Soesemann. The reigning SSC Offensive Player-of-the-Week delivered from just outside the right side of the box, sending a rope into the side netting for her seventh goal of the season. It proved to be the only one of the night for Saint Leo.
Florida Southern will be off from competition for 11 days before ending the regular season on October 29 with a home match against Rollins. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
