MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's soccer team finished the regular season with a 3-1 loss on the road to No. 22 Florida Tech Tuesday night. Mocs finish the regular season as a six-seed and will play Nova Southeastern in the Sunshine State Conference quarterfinals.
The Mocs (8-6-3, 4-4-2) answered Florida Tech within minutes of the first goal but were ultimately unable to stop a penalty kick and late consolation goal to upset the Sunshine State Conference Co-Champions. The Panthers (12-1-3, 8-1-1) capitalized on a Moccasin handball to go up by one before the final goal in the last 10 seconds to seal the FT win.
Florida Southern was quickly tested with early shots by Florida Tech that culminated in the Panthers' first goal in the 17
th minute. The Mocs answered in the 22
nd minute with a top-bar goal by
Malia Brost from a pass by
Rilee Hasegawa.
After a shot that went high by
Anita Vera, the Panthers stormed down the field with an attempt that was stopped by FSC via a handball in the box. Panthers capitalized on the penalty kick with a 2-1 lead in the 31
st minute that remained the score until halftime.
FSC came out firing in the second half with shots on goal by
Meghan Kriney, Ally Prentice, and
Madison Male but were unable to find the net. In the final minutes, the Mocs dialed in the offensive push that had Moccasin keeper
Jenny Staten out of position with a quick turnover and goal by the Panthers just past the midfield line. Staten finished with seven saves and eight total shots by the Mocs, led by Vera and Hasegawa with two each.
The Mocs will enter the SSC quarterfinals as a six-seed to take on Nova Southeastern on Monday, Nov. 6, in Fort Lauderdale. More information on the postseason matchup will be released when available.
