Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd College women's soccer team had several good chances early in Monday's match against Southeastern (Fla.) University, but was unable to put any away.
It was, instead, a difficult shot that started the scoring for the Tritons and helped propel them to a 3-0 win over the Fire for the team's first victory of 2015.
In fact, the match took two big turns in the final two minutes of the first half.
After seeing several quality chances that either barely missed the frame or were stopped by SEU (2-1) keeper Jessica McClernan, it was a difficult shot from distance that finally put the Tritons on the board.
A cross from the left side carried past the box to the opposite side, where
Leah Chisolm ran it down. She then launched a high shot from the deep right corner that bent into the goal just inside the left post - a memorable way for the junior to score her first career goal.
Less than a minute later, SEU's Shayna Cole tried for the equalizer with a well-struck ball from just outside the box on the left side. Eckerd keeper
Angelique Ulmer denied the opportunity, leaping up and punching the ball over the crossbar to keep the Tritons on top.
It was one of several quality saves by Ulmer, who posted her first clean sheet as a member of the Tritons. She finished the night with six saves, two of which were in one-on-one situations.
"She kept calm for us," said Eckerd head coach
Danielle Fotopoulos. "Her composure was excellent and she did a great job controlling the game by slowing it down."
Those two pivotal plays seemed to give Eckerd (1-0-1) a boost in the second half as the Tritons continued to control the run of play. It didn't take long for EC to find the net again via a brilliant scoring run finished off by
Alice Wader in the 54th minute.
The run started when
Abby Sanchez centered a perfect pass into space where
Jana Spengler tracked it down. Spengler carried the ball toward the box, then dropped it off to Wader who was running on from the left side. The freshman took one touch and beat McClernan low to the right post for her first career goal.
Eckerd capped off the scoring in the 82nd minute after
Lauren Monce sent a pass to
Shannon Estes-Larkin near the top of the box. Estes-Larkin turned and buried a shot from straight away for the final tally of the night.
As they did on Friday, the Tritons dominated possession and shots as they held a 22-10 edge on total attempts. However, several good opportunities didn't produce goals - something Fotopoulos wants to see change in the future.
"I'd like to finish a little bit earlier," she said, "but in the second half we came out and got it done. We will continue to work on finishing but want to possess as well and not let the game get so frantic."
The Tritons return to the pitch on Thursday, hosting Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) at 7:00 PM.
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