Box Score
LAKELAND â€" On their third try, this one finally counted. After two previous attempts to play their Sunshine State Conference match, Florida Southern and Saint Leo both managed to beat the weather this time, while a stifling defense helped the Mocs beat the Lions 2-0 in their makeup game Monday afternoon.
Florida Southern (4-5-2, 2-1-1) out-shot Saint Leo 15-3, had an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks, and controlled the match from start to finish. The Moccasins eventually took control on the scoreboard too when Kara Moore converted a penalty kick in the 65th minute, and Sarah Goolsby added a goal in the 74th minute that for all practical purposes put the game away.
The real story though was the Florida Southern defense, which produced its fourth shutout of the season, its fifth game allowing less than 10 shots, and its third game with three shots on goal or less. Of the three shots the Mocs allowed on Monday, none were on target, and the Lions didn’t even make it into the box with possession until the 63rd minute. While the entire defense was superb, Gianna Conte and Alyssa Abrahamsen were especially impressive, as the Lions (2-8-1, 1-5-1) seemed to focus much of their attack in the first half down the left flank where they were thwarted time after time by that combination.
Perhaps the most dangerous chance the Lions had in the first half came in the 34th minute when Ariana Foreman tried to play the ball in to Adrianna Johnson, who got behind the Florida Southern back line when the Mocs lost possession near midfield. The ball was just a step too far for Johnson, however, and Erin Moseley was able to come out of the net and collect it near the top of the box.
While the Moccasins went the first 45 minutes without allowing a shot, they took seven themselves, with three of them coming on corner kicks. The best of those came off the head of Danielle Hancock, who put one just high in the 17th minute, and another one wide in the 20th. In the 25th minute, another header by Jackie Metz also sailed a little too high.
In the second half, Goolsby nearly scored twice in the first five minutes, with Sydney Montgomery and Kirra Rainbow creating opportunities that were snuffed out in the box by Saint Leo defenders Rosie Kmita and Line Pedersen. Moore and Brooke Williams also came close, with Abby Evans saving a free kick by Moore in the 49th minute, and Williams almost catching Evans by surprise in the 53rd when she had a go at one from outside the box that was barely wide of the net.
Goolsby would have another opportunity in the 58th minute when Morgan Sammons gave her the ball at the end of a long run through half the Saint Leo lineup. The shot was well struck but a touch high.
The deadlock was broken in the 65th minute when Montgomery was taken down on the left side of the box to create a penalty kick, and Moore slammed it home for her first goal of the season.
The Mocs’ next shot also ended up in the net, though it got there in unconventional fashion. Conte set up the goal for Florida Southern with a pass out of the right corner intended for Goolsby at the near post. The ball got there, but with a defender locked on to her inside the 6-yard box, all Goolsby could do was re-direct the ball with her back. It got past Evans who was also coming out to make a play, and slowly rolled into the far corner of the net for the freshman’s second goal of the year.
From there, Florida Southern’s back line of Conte, Abrahamsen, Williams and Sammons shut down the Lions, though Saint Leo did get one final shot off with two seconds remaining. Nevertheless, Moseley did not have to make a save in recording her fourth shutout of the season.
Florida Southern will play its next game on Saturday when it hosts Eckerd College at 5:00 p.m.
