LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's soccer team defeated Eckerd College on Wednesday night by a final score of 2-1, by the strength of goals from
Lindsey Meyer and
Morgan Collica.
The Moccasins (9-1-3, 5-1-1 SSC) have now won five consecutive games, and haven't lost a match in over a month. The win also bolstered Florida Southern to sole possession of first place in the Sunshine State Conference. The Tritons (4-5-1, 1-4-1 SSC) put together a gritty performance, bouncing back from an early FSC strike to keep the game within one at all times.
Ten minutes into the match, Meyer scored for the second time in as many games after a brilliant effort by
Caitlyn Lowery opened her up in the box. C. Lowery stole the ball and gained possession on the left edge of the box before rifling a perfect cross with her left foot that found the foot of Meyer, who shot the ball into the far corner for her fourth goal of the year.
In the minutes following the opening goal, the Tritons were able to get a couple of shots on net, both of which were saved by
Jenny Staten, who has a 6-1-1 record in goal this season.
Both teams received yellow cards with the score still 1-0, and the Tritons eventually earned a corner kick opportunity with roughly seven minutes to play in the first half. The kick dropped into a melee of players in the box, eventually falling to the foot of Eckerd's Aisling Spillane, who scored on an open net.
Tatum Albrecht paced the Mocs with two shots on goal in the first half, including a bid in the 41
st minute that was saved. The teams went into the half knotted at one, with the Tritons leading in shots, seven to five, and corners, three to zero.
Eckerd opened the second half in an offensive attack, but the Florida Southern defense kept the game tied. The Mocs won their first corner kick opportunity of the night in the 63
rd minute, which set up the game-winner and the huge conference win.
C. Lowery earned the corner kick opportunity after putting another cross toward the goalmouth, which was able to be cleared out. The ensuing corner kick was another excellent cross from C. Lowery, falling to the head of Collica, who put the ball above the goalkeeper's gloves for the 2-1 lead.
The Mocs were able to hang on for the remainder of the contest despite heavy rain for the final few minutes of the second half. The Moccasin defense was able to stave off three Eckerd shots, plus a corner kick, as the team kept the Tritons out of scoring range until the final horn.
The win gives the Moccasins sole possession of first place in the Sunshine State Conference as the team aims to qualify for the end-of-season tournament, which the top six teams in the league qualify for.
Florida Southern will return to play this Saturday night at home in a match against Atlantis University. A Senior Night ceremony is set to being before the 7 p.m. kickoff.
