Box Score
DAVIE â€" With two minutes to play in the first half, the stat sheet had a decidedly Nova Southeastern slant to it. Then Kirra Rainbow hit the tilt button, and none of the other numbers mattered anymore. Rainbow’s 44th-minute goal on a free kick gave Florida Southern all the offense it would need, and Erin Moseley provided plenty of defense to give the Moccasins a 1-0 win over the Sharks.
Rainbow’s goal came on one of only six shots by the Moccasins (1-3-1) while Moseley collected a career-high eight saves, most of them difficult chances while facing 15 shots by the Sharks (1-2). In addition to the two sophomores, the Mocs also got big plays from freshmen Gianna Conte, Sarah Goolsby and Christine Knudstrup, and all of them were needed to secure Florida Southern’s first win under first-year coach Brittany Jones.
Early on, the Moccasins had to weather two storms of a different kind. The first was a pre-game downpour that drenched the field minutes before kickoff. The second was a flurry of shots by Nova Southeastern in the first 25 minutes of the match, all of them either saved by Moseley or going just off the mark.
Moseley’s first serious test came in the ninth minute when Sierre Lelii had an open look at the goal from the top of the box but pulled her shot just wide of the right post. Five minutes later, Lelii set up Malin Broberg for a running shot from the top of the box that Moseley smothered, and Lelii launched one from 35 yards in the 15th minute that barely went over the crossbar. Even more dangerous was a shot by Andi Burchfield right in the middle of the box in the 24th minute. Moseley was again up to the task, however, diving to her left to send it wide of the net.
Florida Southern’s only serious threat during the early Nova rampage came in the 19th minute when Sydney Montgomery sent a well-placed cross to the back post where defender Alyssa Abrahamsen had slipped in behind the defense. Her volley from inside the 6-yard box went over the bar, however, keeping the game scoreless. Another beautiful ball played by Brooke Williams in the 40th minute was just a step too far for another run out of the back by Morgan Sammons.
After the two close calls, it all came together for Florida Southern with just under two minutes to play in the first half. With the Mocs awarded a free kick after a Nova foul, Conte sent the ball long and into the box where it was played forward by Goolsby. That allowed Rainbow to get free for a close-range shot on goal that ended up in the net for a 1-0 Florida Southern lead.
Moseley and the Moccasin defense were again under pressure in the second half, but never once buckled. That included a frightening sequence in the 57th through 64th minutes that saw four Nova Southeastern corner kicks, one shot hit the post, and another shot blocked by Knudstrup.
One of those corner kicks brought Moseley off her line to play the ball, but it got loose from the Moccasin goalkeeper and ended up at the feet of Broberg who was dangerously close to the goal. With Moseley unable to make a play, it was Knudstrup who blocked the shot, allowing the Mocs to once again collect themselves. A few minutes later the Mocs turned the ball over in the back third after another Nova attack, giving Broberg an open shot from the top of the box. This one rang off the left post with enough force to bounce back to her for another shot that went high.
The Sharks had just two more shots the rest of the game, and though Moseley had to make a save on one of them, neither of them were as close as the earlier chances. The Moccasins were then able to close out the last three minutes without incident.
Although Nova Southeastern is a member of the Sunshine State Conference along with Florida Southern, Wednesday night’s game was a non-conference match in the league’s new plus-four scheduling format. The two teams will meet again in Lakeland on September 25.
Florida Southern’s next match will be its 2012 home opener on Wednesday, September 19, against Rollins College. That too will be a non-conference match beginning at 5:00 p.m.
