Women's Soccer Hosts Florida Tech for SSC Tournament Semifinal

After earning a first-round bye, the one-seed Florida Southern College women's soccer team will host four-seed Florida Tech for the 2022 Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinal match. The Moccasins earned the number one seed after winning the program's first SSC Regular Season Championship in the final games of the season.
 
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Field: Berend Field at the Barnett Athletic Complex
Kick-off: Thursday, Nov. 3, 7:00 p.m.
Coverage: Live Stats - www.fscmocs.com/stats; Video – www.fscmocs.com/live
 
1^st Seed – The Moccasins – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Florida Southern, registering votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches standings, ended the regular season with a 12-1-3 overall record and a program-high eight conference wins. The Mocs have an eight-game winning streak, the most since 2008 when the team went for 11-straight wins. The record-breaking year culminated in the program's first SSC Regular Season title and ranked the Mocs third in the latest NCAA Division II South Regional standings.
 
The Mocs lead the SSC with 2.625 goals per game, compared to just 0.63 by their opponents. Caitlyn Lowery is tied for second in the conference for goals (10) to lead the powerhouse offensive front for FSC. Freshmen Angelina Coelho (six), Alison Jenkins (four), and Malia Brost (four) join Lindsey Meyer (four) as top goal scorers for the Mocs, with a total of 13 different players with at least one goal this season. C. Lowery is tied with Anita Vera in assists (five), as Meyer is second with four assists. Led by senior goalkeeper Jenny Staten, the Mocs have a combined nine shutouts this season, with six when Staten is in goal. Having only allowed 10 goals all year, Florida Southern's defensive backline is a strong point in the SSC.
 
4^th Seed – The Panthers - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Florida Tech appears in its second consecutive SSC semifinal match after beating Barry 1-0 Monday night. May Queiroz scored the game-winner from a cross by Marem Ndiongue in the 18^th minute, and keeper Mario Sanchez Recuero made five saves to keep the game to the Panthers. Sanchez Recuero recorded her 280^th save of her career, a new program record, in the 85^th minute. The win over Barry was the first Panther win since 2017 when Florida Tech beat the Bucs in the SSC Semifinals.
 
Averaging just 1.27 goals per game, Queiroz leads the team with seven of the goals, with Ndiongue right behind with five. Cristina Garriga has three goals, with four other goal scorers with one a piece. Katherine Cunningham has five assists this season, a team-high. Despite only 19 goals this year, Florida Tech is fourth in the conference in goals allowed, with only 0.80 allowed in the 15 games played. Queiroz leads the conference in shots and shots on goal and Sanchez Recuero is third in the conference in saves (53) and save percentage (0.828).
 
FSC in the SSC Tournament
The Mocs have appeared in the conference tournament nine times in program history with a 6-6-3 record and appeared in a semifinal match only five times. The last tournament appearance for the Mocs was in 2017 when FSC lost 2-1 to Florida Tech. The last SSC tournament win was in 2013 when the Mocs upset higher-seed Tampa 1-0 in double overtime.
 
The Matchup – FSC vs Florida Tech
Both teams met earlier this season when the Mocs were victorious in a 1-0 win on September 24^th. A battle for both teams, Angelina Coelho hit the game-winner off a penalty kick in the second half that gave the Mocs the win. Staten finished that game with seven saves, tied for her personal best this season. The two teams have met in the SSC tournament three times, with Florida Tech having the advantage with two wins. In 2009 the teams met in the semifinals, with Florida Southern a 2-0 win, but the next two meetings, the Panthers won. The 2010 SSC semifinals against Tech went to penalty kicks, which the Panthers won 3-1. The last time that the Mocs were in the SSC tournament was a 2-1 loss against Florida Tech, a quarterfinals matchup hosted by higher-seeded Florida Southern. Overall record against the Panther is 8-13-5.
 
Milestones Achieved
Florida Southern continues to shine this 2022 season, having already broken most conference wins in a season and the 12 wins on the season are also the most wins since 2009 when the Mocs went 12-8-1. Keeper Jenny Staten has won two SSC Defensive Player of the Week awards, the first in school history for a goalie to win two SSC weekly awards in a single season, and the first since 2010 to win two POTW awards in a single season. Forward star Caitlyn Lowery was named SSC Offensive Player of the Week a couple of weeks ago with the game-winner against Barry that gave the Mocs the regular season title.
 
As a team, Florida Southern has 42 goals on the year, the third-most in school history, and 20th in the nation out of 253 schools. The Mocs are also in the top 30 among Division II institutions in categories such as assists per game (17th), points per game (18th), scoring offense (21st), total assists (19th), total points (19th), and winning percentage (15th). Individual leaders for the Mocs include C. Lowery, who is 10th in the nation for game-winning goals (5), and top 40 in total goals and total points. A combined nine shutouts this year (six with keeper Jenny Staten), is the most in a single season in school history (the previous record was eight in 21 matches in the 2009 season). Staten moved into second all-time for FSC in career shutouts, with her career total 16 thus far, behind 19 from Martina Tangen Billing (2008-11).
 
Other games around the league:
#3 Embry-Riddle at #2 Nova Southeastern – 7:00 p.m.
Following the semifinal round, the championship final will be played on Sunday, November 6^th. The SSC champion will receive an automatic qualification to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships. Regional competition will begin at host sites beginning on Thursday, November 10^th. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Monday, November 7^th, here.