MIAMI SHORES – Going for a season-sweep of 2nd-ranked Barry, Florida Southern saw its season come to an end Saturday when the Buccaneers scored once in each half to take a 2-0 decision over the Moccasins.
Barry (10-1-2, 6-0-1) suffered its only loss of the season on September 20 in a non-conference game at Florida Southern, but the Buccaneers got goals from Shanice Robe and Lavinia Nkomo on Saturday to even things up. The Moccasins got a big game from senior defender Sydney Montgomery (Sanford, Fla.) but were unable to dent the scoreboard against a Barry defense that posted its sixth shutout of the season after the Moccasins had been one of only two teams to score more than one goal against them earlier this year.
The first real chances for either team came in the ninth minute when Barry and Florida Southern both threatened the other's net only a few seconds apart. Barry's Jojo Frigerio put a header just over the bar off a free kick played into the box by Ashley Harlan, and Florida Southern junior Taylor Cox (Palm City, Fla.) pushed one high after a good run down the middle at the other end.
Florida Southern put together another strong attack in the 13th minute, resulting in a free kick drawn deep in the right corner. Playing it like a corner kick, junior Gianna Conte (Orange Park, Fla.) sent the ball curling through the box where Montgomery came in from the back side of the play and hit a shot that was well-struck but too high to score.
Over the next 15 minutes, the only shots by either team were a pair of headers by Frigerio on corner kicks. However, in the 29th minute Barry got on the board when Amanda Traynor sent a ball in from the left flank for Robe, who was true on a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
The Buccaneers scored their second goal in the 68th minute, using a corner kick by Tamara Vuckovich to set up a header by Nkomo in the middle of the box. The Moccasins kept them from scoring more though when both Montgomery and senior midfielder Jackie Metz (Vero Beach, Fla.) blocked shots inside the box. Montgomery also denied Christy Grimshaw a scoring chance when she stopped the Barry midfielder 1-on-1 inside of 18 yards.
Montgomery wasn't finished on the offensive end of the field either. She came close to scoring again in the 74th minute with a blast from 35 yards that was nearly spot-on but ended up perhaps an inch too high from being a marvelous career-ending goal.
Barry finished with a 14-7 advantage in shots, though it was only 7-5 at the half. Each goalkeeper, senior Erin Moseley (Jacksonville, Fla.) for Florida Southern, and Becca Rogers for Barry, made one save. Rogers' save came in the 68th minute on a shot by freshman Izzy Loyd (Melbourne, Fla.) off a nice feed from junior Taylor Chitty (Columbus, Ind.).
