ST. PETERSBURG, FL- The Eckerd Tritons women's soccer team took on Florida Southern (3-4-0, 1-1 SSC) Tuesday night at home but could not overcome its losing streak, as they were defeated 3-0.
It was in the 20th minute when the Moccasins scored first, set up by a corner kick by Alex Hoover that was taken by Emily Griffith who then passed it to Princess Haley who put the Moccasins ahead, 1-0.
Eckerd goalkeeper
Marisa Berger was able to save two shots in the first half, along with the help of defender
Rhianna Lebedz. Berger was able to save a twenty-foot kick in the air, sent down midfield by a Florida Southern.
The Tritons fell further behind as the Moccasins were able to score another goal in the 38th minute of the game. Haley scored her second goal of the game with an assist from Hoover from the outside.
Going into the second half, Coach McCauley stated, “It goes back to the midfield and how [Florida Southern was] playing versus how we were playing and how to solve the problems [we were having]. Once we started to get the ball wide and play in behind them, we actually started to make progress up the field and get down closer to their goal.”
However, in the 51st minute of the game, Kerri-Ann Brown kicked about an eight-foot high shot that skimmed Berger's hand before finding the back of the net for the third goal of the game.
Although the Tritons were down 3-0, they were able to create more opportunities for goals, as there were a few chances for them to take their shots, but, each time, Florida Southern was able to regain possession of the ball and return it back to Eckerd defensive half.
The Tritons will return to the pitch on Wednesday, September 30 as they host the Thomas NightHawks at 7pm at the Turley Athletic Complex.
Quotes from Eckerd Head Coach Joe McCauley
Regarding the preparation of this game…
“[Generally], our focal points are fixing problems that we know that we're facing on a game-by-game basis. What we focused on this week was trying to get our midfield to defend a little bit better. After looking at the last game, our backs are doing a much better job, but they are spending a lot of time defending, so we need to get our midfield incorporated so some of the pressure is relieved from the backline, absorbed through the midfield line, and then the next stop will be trying to get our forwards engaged.”
On the second half of the game…
“We didn't see quite as many gaping holes, where we get pulled apart, and when we did step forward it had a positive effect so we either won the ball or kept it and turned it. “
