Late Goal Lifts Sharks Over Moccasins on Senior Night

LAKELAND, Fla. – A late goal by the opposition led to a 1-0 loss for the Florida Southern College women's soccer team against Nova Southeastern University on Saturday night at Berend Field. The Moccasins celebrated Senior Night with a pregame ceremony honoring Claire DuRee, Morgan Elliott, Ashley Shimberg, Haley Thomassy, and Anita Vera.
 
The Mocs (4-5-4, 0-4-3 SSC) had the advantage in shots on goal but were unable to fend off a late goal in the conference loss. The Sharks (4-4-2, 3-1-2 SSC) capitalized on a congested lane to free Alexa Bereczki on the outside in the game-winning goal.
 
Florida Southern controlled the attack for the opening minutes of the game, including an early shot on goal by Rilee Hasegawa in the fourth minute. Shimberg had a great opportunity that was blocked shortly after, though the game went stale for the next 10 minutes.
 
Possession changes and good defense were the storyline halfway through the half until Nova Southeastern had back-to-back shots, which were blocked and then saved by Moccasin keeper Lily O'Neil. Both teams then heightened their shots with opportunities in the final 20 minutes. FSC had a shot on goal by Sierra Spirk and NSU had a shot on goal by Schutt, which O'Neil saved. Other late shots went off target, with a 0-0 score at halftime.
 
The second half was a fight for a conference win and playoff contention as both teams looked to score. Nova Southeastern nearly doubled their shots in the second half with immense pressure on the Moccasin defense. Hasegawa and Ally Prentice had great shots on goal in the first 25 minutes, though saved by the Sharks.
 
NSU had 11 shots in the second half as O'Neill had two saves, both tallied at the halfway point of the half. The increased shots posed a deep threat as a fight for the ball on the outside of the box allowed Saga Bjorling to find an open Bereczki with the game-winner in the 86^th minute.
 
In the next couple of minutes, FSC had to fend off more NSU attacks until a deep cross found Jasmin Adames on the outside lane. With under 30 seconds remaining, Adames had a clear shot at the goal to tie but was just above the crossbar to seal a Sharks 1-0 victory.
 
Nova Southeastern led in shots (17) with 11 in the second half over the 11 shots total taken by Florida Southern. The Mocs led in shots on goal with eight, though all were saved by NSU keeper Emilie Schroeder. O'Neil finished with four saves in the loss. Seven Moccasins registered a shot in the game, with Hasegawa leading the team with two shots on goal.
 
The Mocs will hit the road to Daytona Beach for a game against Embry-Riddle on Wednesday, Oct. 30, set for a 7 p.m. start.
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