Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Caroline Evers and Sarah Goolsby were in the middle of the action once again for Florida Southern but left plenty of room for another Moccasin freshman to push her way into the spotlight too. Evers scored her third goal in the last two games, Goolsby picked up two assists, and Erin Phillips notched the first goal of her career to lead Florida Southern to a 2-1 win over Nova Southeastern.
Tuesday night was a re-match of an earlier game that saw Florida Southern (3-4-1, 1-0 Sunshine State Conference) get out-shot by Nova 15-6, but still win the game 1-0 by scoring on a free kick late in the first half. This one meant a little bit more, however, since it counted in the conference standings, and it was a group of freshmen who made sure what counted was a win. Evers, Goolsby and Phillips were just three of the six rookies in Florida Southern’s starting lineup Tuesday night and all of them were at their best as the Mocs jumped out to a 2-0 lead just over 20 minutes into the game.
Evers put Florida Southern on the board in the 19th minute when Goolsby took advantage of a mix-up in Nova’s back line and got the ball forward for her teammate. Evers took it into the box and connected on her third goal of the season, with all of them coming in the last two games.
Barely two minutes later, Goolsby and Evers both assisted Phillips’ goal, with Goolsby providing the first pass into the box. From there Evers sent the ball on to Phillips who slipped her shot inside the back post to put the Mocs ahead 2-0.
The score remained that way until halftime, but the margin could have been greater. The Moccasins were in complete control throughout the first half, out-shooting the Sharks 9-1, and only a couple of sterling plays by Nova Southeastern defenders kept it from being a 4-0 game.
One of those came in the 11th minute when Alyssa Abrahamsen hit Danielle Hancock in stride down the middle of the field with a free kick out of the back. The only Nova player with a chance to stop her was center back Dilja Olafsdottir, who managed to briefly disrupt Hancock inside the box and then block a shot that might have put Florida Southern ahead even earlier.
In between the two goals Florida Southern did score, Christine Knudstrup nearly gave the Mocs another. An Evers corner kick had sent the ball into the middle of the box where it bounced around before Knudstrup lined up a header that was on target and out of reach for Nova goalkeeper Amanda Kopale. Defender Shadia Blair was in position, however, to head it off the line and keep it a 1-0 game. Phillips made it a moot point though when she scored less than a minute later.
The Moccasins had even more scoring chances in the second half, though the Sharks (2-3-1, 1-1) managed to keep them off the scoreboard. Kara Moore nearly curled in a corner kick in the 57th minute before Sarah Keville cleared it off the line; Evers hit the post from close range in the 70th minute after a good cross from Goolsby; and Goolsby herself was denied on a low liner from the right wing that was saved by Kopale.
Later, Moore sent a free kick from long range that was just over the crossbar, and a header by Jackie Metz on a corner kick was saved by Kopale right on the line too. Overall, the Moccasin midfielders helped create enough chances throughout the second half to keep the Sharks largely on their own side of the field.
Eventually, the Sharks scored on a fluke play with 2:09 remaining, creating some tense moments at the end. Tori Vives helped the Sharks score with a cross deep out of the right corner, but instead of it finding another Nova player it was re-directed into the net by a Moccasin defender.
The own goal may have given the Sharks new life, but the Moccasin defense snuffed it out. A corner kick in the 90th minute gave the Sharks a chance to tie the game, but goalkeeper Erin Moseley batted it away from a group of Nova players in the box, and Phillips tracked it down to give possession back to the Mocs. That allowed Florida Southern to run out the final seconds without further incident.
Florida Southern finished with a 21-7 advantage in shots taken, with Moseley making three saves for the Moccasins and Kopale making two for the Sharks.
Florida Southern will be on the road for its next game on Saturday when it travels to Melbourne to take on Florida Tech at 1:00 p.m.
