LAKELAND â€" With first place in the Sunshine State Conference on the line Saturday at Barnett Field, the game between 15th-ranked Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern figured to be a fight to the finish. But Princess Haley and the Moccasins delivered an early TKO. With Haley scoring two first-half goals, and three different players scoring in the second half, Florida Southern rolled to 5-0 win over the Sharks, moving into sole possession of first place in the SSC standings.
Haley got the scoring started two-and-a-half minutes into the game, taking a long serve from Kristen Vollmer out of the back, and turning a second-chance shot into her seventh goal of the season. She later made the score 2-0 at the 26-minute mark, again finishing a play that started in the back. This time it was Lexie Bottomley who put the ball in the box, with Kerri-Ann Brown battling for the ball before getting it over to Haley for the shot.
Those two goals came against a defense that was leading the SSC with a 0.65 goals against average and seven shutouts, and had not allowed a goal in its last three games. The Sharks (8-4-1, 4-1-1 Sunshine State Conference) were also allowing a little over 10 shots per match, but the Moccasins (9-3-2, 5-1) had nine in the first half and finished with 15.
In the second half, it was Kara Moore, Alyssa Abrahamsen and Brown who did the scoring for Florida Southern, though Haley played a role in one of those goals as well. After Moore had scored on a direct free kick in the 62nd minute, Haley helped make it 4-0 a few minutes later when she dribbled around two defenders on the right side of the box and sent a crossing pass toward the far post. Abrahamsen came streaking into the box from her midfield position and hammered the ball home for the first goal of her career.
The Moccasins scored their final goal in the 73rd minute when Emily Griffith played the ball down the middle for Brown, setting up a one-on-one opportunity that ended with their fifth goal of the night. The five goals were a season-high for Florida Southern and the most in conference play for the Mocs since a 5-1 win against Nova in 2008.
Florida Southern gave up 11 shots in the game, but nearly all of them came from outside the box or the perimeter. Martina Tangen Billing had to make only two saves in recording her fourth shutout of the season. Raye Salkey was the only Nova player to test her, hitting both of her shots on target, with one in the 85th minute that nearly broke up the shutout.
Both teams hit the crossbar as well, with Brianna Hanly doing so for Nova in the first half, and Hanna Jansson doing it for Florida Southern in the second. The Mocs also missed a penalty kick, but it was immediately after that when the Sharks were whistled for a foul at the top of the box and Moore blasted the free kick into the net to make it 3-0.
With the win, Florida Southern now controls its own path to the SSC regular season title, which would also give it a first-round bye and the right to host the SSC Tournament semifinals and championship game. A win in their next game against Saint Leo would secure the bye, but they may need to also win against Florida Tech to clinch the title.
The next two games could also have a major impact on the top of the NCAA South Region rankings. The Moccasins came into this week at #2, with Rollins #1. The Moccasins played only the game against Nova, while Rollins tied Florida Tech in its only match. The Mocs’ only conference loss to this point came on September 21 at Rollins.
“To be able to handle the pressure tonight, knowing what this game meant, shows how far we’ve come,†said FSC coach Ben Strawbridge. “We’ve worked hard all year to reach this point, and now we have to continue that as we prepare for Saint Leo.â€
Wednesday night’s game against Saint Leo begins at 7:00 and will be the last regular season home game for the Moccasins this year.
