Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Who knew that when Florida Southern and Lynn played to a 3-3 tie in a non-conference game back in September, it wouldn’t be the last time the two sides would see those numbers on the scoreboard. And just as the Knights overcame a 2-goal, second-half deficit the first time, the Mocs did the same in round two. With freshman Kristy Legoas scoring the equalizer in the 88th minute, Florida Southern ended up with another 3-3 tie against Lynn.
It was actually the fourth straight tie game between the two sides, including a first-round game in last year’s Sunshine State Conference Tournament where the Moccasins advanced on penalty kicks. Each of last year’s tie games ended 1-1, but the offense dominated the two meetings in 2013, even after Saturday night’s match was scoreless at halftime.
The Knights (4-6-4, 1-2-3) started the scoring almost immediately after the second-half whistle when Jordyn Turner drove forward with the ball and crossed it into the center of the box where Kirstie Schults re-directed it into the net just 32 seconds into the period. Schults also scored the Knights’ second goal at the 60:10 mark, and her third of the season, with Turner assisting that one as well, along with Summer Schults.
Down 2-0, Florida Southern (3-9-4, 1-4-1) came back to tie the game with goals in the 74th and 79th minutes. Sophomore Sarah Goolsby (Richmond, Hill, Ga.) had the first one, set up by the passing of Jackie Metz (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Kirra Rainbow (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) along the top of the penalty area. The second pass by Rainbow put Goolsby in scoring position on the right wing and she converted for her third goal of the year.
The game-tying goal by the Moccasins was an own goal by the Knights, though freshman Sheila Ramos (Tampa, Fla.) wreaked enough havoc to create confusion for Lynn’s back line. Following a free kick sent into the box, the Knights had to contend with Ramos tenaciously fighting through two defenders for the loose ball. Her hard work paid off. When one defender attempted to clear it, the other was in the line of fire, and the ball deflected off her and past goalkeeper Meghan Dolan into the net.
Lynn re-gained the lead in the 82nd minute when Kirstie Schults intercepted a pass in the back third and drove to goal before dishing the ball for Turner in the center of the box. Turner made good on the shot for her third goal of the season, giving her a share of the team lead.
Then it was Florida Southern’s turn to score, and it was Legoas, a freshman from Palm Harbor, Florida, who sent the game to overtime. Senior Kara Moore (Fleming Island, Fla.) started the play with a corner kick swung in from the left side to the far post where Alyssa Abrahamsen (Highland, N.Y.) was the first Moccasin to play the ball. Unable to control it for a shot, the ball still ended up with Goolsby in the middle, and eventually Legoas back on the left. Legoas buried her shot for goal number three on the season, knotting the score for the second time in less than 10 minutes.
The Moccasins out-shot the Knights 6-2 in the two overtime periods, forcing Dolan into three saves, while Erin Moseley (Jacksonville, Fla.) made two stops in extra time for the Mocs. Legoas and Ramos both had strong shots in the second overtime that were saved. Another well-placed free kick by Moore was just a hairs-breadth too far for Sydney Montgomery (Sanford, Fla.) running unmarked to the back post in the 94th minute.
The Mocs also had the ball in the final minute for one last chance to give a winner to the game. Under tremendous pressure by the Moccasins, the Knights were finally able to get the ball out from in front of the net, and a last-second shot by Gianna Conte (Orange Park, Fla.) was blocked well away from the goal.
Although 35 shots were taken in the game, and both Moseley and Dolan had to make eight saves, the teams combined for just seven shots in the scoreless first half, four by the Moccasins and three by the Knights. Most of them were either saved harmlessly by the goalkeepers or were wide of the, and most of them came early in the match too, with the Knights taking two of theirs in the first four minutes. Both of those were easily caught by Moseley, one of them a hard line drive by Turner from nearly 35 yards.
Turner later drew Moseley out after taking a pass from Linzi Martin in the 17th minute, but with only the Moccasin goalkeeper between her and the goal, Martin pushed the shot wide right. The Knights didn’t seriously threaten again until the 32nd minute on a free kick by Lina Forsman, but that was first cleared by senior defender Brooke Williams (Brandon, Fla.), and then by Goolsby when they tried to play it back inside.
Three of Florida Southern’s four first-half shots came in a 90-second span before the 33-minute mark on the clock, and just as the Knights had trouble finding room to maneuver thereafter, the Mocs did too. Just over two minutes before halftime though, they nearly got on the board when Moore’s free kick gave Metz a header in the box, but it carried a bit wide.
Florida Southern will be on the road for its final two regular season games, including Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Tampa.
