Box Score
AUBURNDALE, FL – Candace Metcalfe barely beat the halftime horn for a goal that put Florida Southern ahead, and Anna Griessler continued her run of success against Eckerd with one goal and one assist as the Moccasins defeated the Tritons 3-2 Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Tritons (5-6, 4-4 Sunshine State Conference) came into the game having not allowed a goal in their last three matches but the Moccasins (7-1-3, 4-1-2) broke that shutout streak in the 16th minute. It was Caitlin Quaempts who scored the goal after Griessler brought the ball across the end line from the right corner and got it inside for the shot that slipped through the Eckerd defense for a 1-0 Florida Southern lead.
- Eckerd tied the game in the 27th minute off a corner kick as Abby Sanchez put the ball into the center of the box where Sophia Kopko ran on to it and pushed it into the net for her first goal of the season.
- The most dramatic moment of the game occurred in the dying seconds of the first half. With the clock ticking down in the final 10 seconds, Metcalfe found herself with the ball on the right side of the facing the Eckerd goal with nowhere near enough time to get closer for a shot than where she was. Working around an Eckerd defender the freshman got one off from distance, which dropped in just over the head of goalkeeper Casey Winn just as the horn sounded for halftime.
- Griessler gave the Moccasins a much-needed insurance goal in the 72nd minute by converting a penalty kick after she was fouled inside the box. It's the third year in a row the junior forward/midfielder has scored against the Tritons
- Eckerd used another Abby Sanchez corner kick in the 84th minute to dent the scoreboard for a second goal. This one was scored by Johanna Andersson after receiving a cross-box header from Gabriela Martinez, but it was the final shot of the night for the Tritons.
- The Moccasin defense was able to hold Eckerd's leading scorer, and the leading goal scorer in the Sunshine State Conference, Stephanie Linton to only one shot in the game. It came a little over nine minutes into the game and was saved by Paige Koetter. Linton had two other scoring chances in the first half, but each time was stopped by a Moccasin defender before she could take a shot. The first came six minutes in, and was snuffed out by Gaelyn Crowder, and the other came in the 24th minute and was broken up by Juliana Guida. The Mocs allowed only nine shots overall.
- Koetter made two saves while facing those nine shots, and Winn made five for Eckerd against 14 Florida Southern shot. The Tritons also had Sydney Tiiman stop one shot, an on-target attempt by Jess Goedde off a corner kick in the eighth minute.
- Winn was sternly tested by Quaempts on a shot immediately after Eckerd had tied the game in the first half, but tipped it over the crossbar. She later made two saves in rapid-fire succession against Metcalfe and Alexa Moberley in the 68th minute.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Florida Southern and Eckerd had been dead even in the all-time series prior to Wednesday night, but the Moccasin win now gives them a 13-12 advantage.
- The Tritons came in with a scoreless minutes streak of 212:41 and extended that to 228:19 before the Moccasins scored.
- Griessler scored in the Mocs' 1-0 win over Eckerd last year, and had three goals in their 4-2 win in 2015. With four goals and 10 points this season, she's surpassed her total of three goals and seven points from last year.
- Metcalfe and Quaempts each scored the first goals of their careers.
- The Moccasins are 6-0-2 in their last eight games, which now stands alone as the second longest unbeaten streak in team history. The school record is 11 set in 2008.
- The seven wins are the most for Florida Southern since 2011 when the Mocs finished 7-7-1.
UP NEXT
Florida Southern will be on the road Saturday night for a 7 p.m. match at Palm Beach Atlantic.
