Returning to Florida Southern as a volunteer assistant coach is Morgan Sammons, a four-year starter for the Moccasins from 2009-12. She played as both a forward and defender for the Moccasins, playing in 67 of a possible 73 games with 66 starts. During that time, she helped the Moccasins to a 35-28-10 record, one appearance in the Sunshine State Conference Championship Game, and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Originally from nearby Lithia, Florida, Sammons stepped right into the starting lineup as a freshman when she started all 21 games for a team that went 12-8-1 and finished as SSC runner-up for the second year in a row. As part of a well-balanced attack, Sammons was third on the team in goals (5), second in assists (6) and fourth in points (16). Her point total ranked second in the SSC that year among freshmen.
Sammons’ biggest moment came during an early-season game at ninth-ranked Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire when she scored both Florida Southern goals in a 2-1 overtime win. It was the Mocs’ first win over a nationally ranked team and it earned her the SSC Offensive Player-of-the-Week award. Sammons would also score two goals in a 3-0 win over Tampa later that year, the Mocs’ first in seven tries at Tampa.
Sammons moved to center back the following year, and spent most of her college career at that position, though she did start at forward in the NCAA Tournament against Florida Tech in 2010, and scored the Mocs’ only goal in a 1-1 tie. That year she also helped the Mocs post a 1.11 goals against average, and as a junior, helped them tie the school record in that department with a 1.10 GAA.
The Moccasins turned in a 1.16 GAA in 2012, putting Sammons in the middle for three of the four best defensive seasons in team history. She was honored that year as an All-SSC defender, was Florida Southern’s team MVP, and was an Academic All-Region selection as well. Earlier that year, Sammons became one of only three players in SSC history to win both the SSC Offensive and Defensive Player-of-the-Week awards at least once in her career. She graduated with a degree in accounting after making the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll all four seasons of her college career.
