LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's soccer team repeats as qualifiers in the Sunshine State Conference tournament as the Mocs travel to Fort Lauderdale as a sixth seed to face No. 24/third-seed Nova Southeastern University on Monday.
SSC Quarterfinal
Opponent: No. 24 Nova Southeastern
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | NSU Soccer Complex
Date: Monday, Nov. 6, 2023 | 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats:
http://www.fscmocs.com/stats
Video:
www.fscmocs.com/live
Tournament Page:
https://sunshinestateconference.com/tournaments/?id=224
Florida Southern solidified the sixth-seed finish after a 4-4-2 SSC record for the second consecutive appearance in the conference postseason tournament. Mocs opened the 2023 season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and finished the regular season with an 8-6-3 record, including a 6-2-2 record at home. No stranger to the SSC, first-year Moccasin head coach
Gerry Lucey is in his 13
th career season as a head coach and his ninth in the SSC.
"Nova Southeastern is a quality side from front to back," said Lucey on Monday's matchup. "We need to get back to playing how we know best in an aggressive, controlled, and tactically smart manner. NSU has a proven side full of athletes with a ton of collegiate experience and quality soccer IQ. We will have to match that intensity for an SSC playoff game. I'm looking forward to seeing our rematch with Nova and how we have grown from that game."
6th Seed – The Moccasins - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Florida Southern has shown a great deal of progress in the first season under coach Lucey. Mocs have 25 goals through 17 games, averaging 1.47 goals a game. With 240 shots this season, the 2023 season is currently seventh in program history for number of shots. FSC went a perfect 3-3 in penalty kicks and a strong Moccasin defense and great goalkeeping tied a program-record nine shutouts this season. FSC had 85 corner kicks, 13 assists, and 47 total saves in the season.
With many new faces on the team, FSC is led in goals by
Malia Brost with five goals and 12 total points with her two assists. The freshman class has shined for the Mocs with
Sierra Spirk (four),
Ally Prentice (five), and
Rilee Hasegawa (one) with a combined 10 goals. Spirk led the Mocs in total shots, with 43 shots, 18 of which were on goal.
Jasmin Adames had a great year as well with four goals and two assists, and
Anita Vera with three goals and one assist. Other goal scorers for the Mocs included
Madison Male, Bianca Purpura, and
Meghan Kriney.
On the defense side of the field, the Mocs have remained stalwart with Male,
Liliana Jeffries, and
Jordan King as a backline. FSC has only allowed 19 goals, 161 shots, and 67 on-goal shots this season. In goal, Kriney stepped in and earned a combined shutout against Georgia Southwestern, but FSC has seen
Jenny Staten shine in her final year of eligibility starting all 17 games. Staten set a new program record for career shutouts earlier in the year and tied a program record of eight shutouts in a single season. She has 24 career shutouts ahead of the SSC tournament game in her 61 appearances and is tied for 10
th among active NCAA Division II leaders for total career shutouts.
3rd Seed – The Sharks - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Nova Southeastern has found the net 34 times in the 2023 season with 22 assists and 218 shots. The Sharks are led by Luana Grabias with 10 goals (third-best in the SSC) and 25 total points. With four game-winners, Grabias has excelled for NSU this year. Other top scorers include Tabea Schutt (seven), Sofia Suarez (five), Dani Correa (five), and Maja Henriksson (four). Similarly to the Mocs, NSU is perfect in penalty kicks with a two-for-two record.
Guarding the net for NSU is Stefane Rosa with an SSC-best 31 saves in nine games played and only three goals allowed in her appearances. She has a save percentage of .912 in 810 minutes, splitting time with Kirra Polley and Christina Hjelvik. NSU opponents have scored 14 goals, compared to NSU's 34, and average less than 10 shots a game.
The Matchup – FSC vs NSU
The regular season bout among the teams went to Nova Southeastern, also ranked No. 24 at the time in the USC poll. Also a road match for the Mocs, FSC had six shots and four on goal as NSU's Schutt recorded a hat trick for the 3-0 NSU win. Plagued by a weather delay in the first half, the Mocs could not match the pressure by NSU, and each of the four shots on goal by FSC was saved by Rosa. Florida Southern has an 8-14-3 record against Nova Southeastern, with the last win a 3-2 FSC score at home in 2015. On the road, FSC has a 3-8-2 record, the last win in 2013. The quarterfinal matchup will be the first postseason meeting between the teams.
FSC in the SSC Tournament
A second-consecutive appearance in the conference postseason for the Mocs after last year's No. 1 seed and a first-round bye after the historic 2022 season was highlighted by an SSC Regular Season title (the first in program history). In the 2022 conference tournament, FSC fell to Florida Tech in penalties in the hard-fought contest. This year will mark the 11
th appearance in the conference tournament with a 6-6-4 record and eighth quarterfinals appearance. Before the 2022 season, 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. This will be the first postseason matchup against Nova Southeastern.
Other Games Around the League
#5-seed Eckerd at #4-seed Rollins – Nov. 6, 2023 - 7:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals will take place Monday, November 6th, Semifinals will be Thursday, November 9th, and the Championship Final will be played Sunday, November 12th. The winner of the women's tournament will receive automatic qualification to the 2023 NCAA Division II Soccer Championships. The opening round of the NCAA Division II Championship is scheduled for Thursday, November 16th - Sunday, November 19th at non-predetermined sites. The third round and quarterfinals will be Friday, December 1st - Sunday, December 3rd. The semifinals and final will be played Thursday, December 7th - Saturday, December 9th at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Monday, November 13
th on ncaa.com.
