Box Score
DAVIE â€" Brittany Jones, head coach of the Moccasins, could have done with a little less drama, but the way it played out Saturday night was so much more fun. Sophomore Sarah Goolsby’s goal in the 87th minute sent the game to overtime, and freshman Kristy Legoas won it there, sending Florida Southern into the Sunshine State Conference Tournament with a 2-1 win over Nova Southeastern.
With Lynn losing to Florida Tech earlier in the day, both Florida Southern (4-10-4, 2-5-1) and Nova Southeastern (5-10-2, 1-6-1) knew that Saturday night’s match was winner-take-all for the final spot in the SSC Tournament. They also knew that a tie was not an option since it would knock both teams out, and put Lynn in the tournament instead.
Legoas made sure that didn’t happen when she one-timed a crossing pass from sophomore Caroline Evers (Valrico, Fla.) 4:45 into the first sudden death overtime period. Streaking in unmarked from the left side of the box, the freshman from Palm Harbor calmly delivered the Mocs’ first overtime win since 2011.
The game ended up in overtime thanks to Goolsby, who came free dribbling through the left side of the box in the 87th minute, and sent a shot past Nova goalkeeper Rachel Lopez for her fourth goal of the season. It was only a precursor for the drama that followed, including an out-of-this-world save by Florida Southern defender Brooke Williams (Brandon, Fla.) in the 89th minute.
In a scoreless first half, each team took five shots, with Florida Southern’s Kirra Rainbow (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) the most active in that department. The junior forward put all three of her attempts on target, but all of them were stopped by Lopez.
It was a shot by Rainbow in the 29th minute that was the closest either team came to scoring in the opening 45 minutes. The Mocs attacked the goal out of the right corner, with Erin Phillips (Geneva, Fla.) in possession and sending it across the field for Sheila Ramos (Tampa, Fla.) in the middle of the box. Ramos got the ball forward to Rainbow who fired a quick shot from eight yards out that was barely stopped by Lopez.
Florida Southern matched its first-half shot total less than 15 minutes into the second half, but it was Nova Southeastern that scored shortly after the kickoff. The goal came from the Sharks’ leading scorer, Malin Broberg, who worked free on the right side of the box before blasting a 10-yard shot off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net. The 48th minute goal was her 11th of the season.
Even with the Sharks trying to protect their 1-goal lead, the game opened up considerably for the Moccasins, who had several opportunities to tie. One of their best came in the 53rd minute when a cross from Legoas was dropped by Lopez. Unable to recover the loose ball, the Sharks could only watch as Rainbow missed the upper left corner by mere inches.
There was more confusion in the back for Nova in the 67th minute when another ball was laying on the ground for Goolsby. She was unable to fight through defenders Dilja Olafsdottir and Cydney Niedermeyer, however, and the Sharks again escaped. Later, with a little over seven minutes to play in regulation, Rainbow sent a beautiful cross into the box for Evers, who hammered a shot at point blank range that was saved in spectacular fashion.
On the other end of the field, Williams one-upped Lopez in the 89th minute when Niedermeyer sent a shot that was destined for the top right corner. Moseley attempted to make the save by going airborne and stretching at full-length, but it was just past her out-stretched hand. Williams, however, was there just inside the post to head the ball off the goal line. It was surely the best save of the year for the Moccasins, and the Sharks were unable to score when Stephanie Moench sent a follow-up attempt wide left.
Though Nova had one shot in overtime, it was the last time Moseley had to work, as Legoas finished the game for the Moccasins with her first career game-winning goal.
Florida Southern, the #6 seed in the tournament, will now face the 3rd-seeded University of Tampa in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
