Box Score
TAMPA â€" Given enough room to take the shot, Kirra Rainbow didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, and for that, the Florida Southern Moccasins are once again still alive in the postseason race. Rainbow’s goal late in the second overtime period gave Florida Southern a 1-0 win over 14th-ranked Tampa in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, and sent the Mocs into the semifinals where they’ll face Rollins on Friday.
Florida Southern (5-10-4) needed an overtime win at Nova Southeastern in its final game of the regular season last Saturday night just to make it to the SSC Tournament. Now, with another overtime win, the Moccasins will stick around a little bit longer, and maybe a lot longer, thanks to Rainbow and a defense that never buckled even while giving up 19 shots in the match.
Rainbow, a junior from Melbourne Beach, Florida, nearly won the game a few seconds earlier when she put a shot from the left wing into the side netting. Her next attempt was on target though, and set up by junior midfielder Jackie Metz (Vero Beach, Fla.), though Rainbow did most of the work. This time she dribbled in from the left wing, found an opening at the top center of the penalty box and sent her shot back into the left side of the goal for her fourth goal of the season, bringing the match to an end. It made Florida Southern the first #6 seed to ever advance to the SSC Tournament semifinals.
The Moccasins had three shots in the second overtime against a Spartan defense that has 12 shutouts on the season, including one against Florida Southern less than a week earlier. Freshman Kristy Legoas (Palm Harbor, Fla.), who scored the game-winner at Nova on Saturday, had the first one when she intercepted a poor pass in the back third by Tampa, and drove to the goal where her shot was saved by Alyson Gregorowicz.
Tampa (15-3-1) controlled most of the first half, but even with an 7-2 advantage in shots, the Spartans had only a handful of serious threats. Two of them came on free kicks in the 11th and 12th minutes that were played into the box, but Cici Gonzalez put one shot wide, and another by Jenny Karl went high. Tampa’s Taylor Wade also had a header off a corner kick in the 31st minute that was directed low and center, but that was stopped by Florida Southern midfielder Sarah Goolsby (Richmond Hill, Ga.).
The Moccasins were held without a shot until senior Kara Moore (Fleming Island, Fla.) cut off a pass between two Tampa defenders in the 19th minute and put one over the crossbar from 25 yards. Their only other attempt in the first half came from senior defender Alyssa Abrahamsen (Highland, N.Y.) who came up on a corner kick and pushed a header wide.
The second half went much the same way as the first, with Tampa out-shooting Florida Southern 7-4, but again with few strong scoring chances for either side.
The Moccasins had one almost right away when Moore had a go at one from just outside the box in the 50th minute. It was well struck but Gregorowicz fielded it cleanly. Then in the 57th minute, Goolsby won a ball for Florida Southern in the attacking third, but her centering pass intended for Moore was a step too far inside the box.
The Moccasins had an even better opportunity to score in the 71st minute when Legoas got the ball out of the corner to Rainbow in the middle of the penalty area. Rainbow fired off a quick shot from close range, but Gregorowicz was right there for the save.
Gregorowicz made four saves in the game, while Florida Southern junior goalkeeper Erin Moseley (Jacksonville, Fla.) had six for her fourth shutout of the year. None of her saves were especially difficult, though she had to make one in each of the two 10-minute overtime periods. Both of them came on shots from outside the box, and most of Tampa’s 19 shots in the game were from similar locations, with the back line of Abrahamsen, Christine Knudstrup (Lakeland, Fla.), Gianna Conte (Orange Park, Fla.) and Sydney Montgomery (Sanford, Fla.) keeping the Spartans from doing too much damage when they reached the attacking third.
The Moccasins will now face #21 Rollins, in Friday’s first semifinal to be played at Barry University. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The Tars received a first-round bye in the SSC Tournament as the #2 seed. Top-seed and host Barry will take on 5th-seeded Florida Tech in the second semifinal at 7 p.m.
