Box Score FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - With a spot in the post-season on the line, the Eckerd women's soccer team fell short in a 2-0 loss on the road to No. 14 Nova Southeastern University Saturday night.
The Sharks (10-1-3, 5-0-2) scored late in the first half and again in the second, propelling the nationally-ranked squad past the Tritons.
After several close chances from both sides, Nova's Myriah Troutman capitalized on a mistake by the Eckerd defense to take a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute.
"It was an unlucky goal off of our mistake," head coach Danielle Fotopoulos said. "But we continued to battle hard in the second half."
After Nova's Nichole Poppe fired off a shot in the 46th minute, a save by goalkeeper Casey Winn resulted in a corner kick for the Sharks. The Tritons struggled to clear the ball off the set piece, giving Sini Laaksonen a clear shot at the net. Laaksonen put away the insurance goal, notching her third goal of the year.
Eckerd continued to battle despite the two-goal deficit but was unable to find the back of the net. Freshmen Ashley Kreinbring and Olivia Ross-Johnson recorded two shots apiece while Kayla Gray, Abby Sanchez, Monique Elliott, Annie Blagg and Madison Dilgard each had one.
Winn came up with seven saves on the night, improving her season total to 92.
"I am proud of our team and our season," Fotopoulos said. "We are going to give it all we can against Barry on Wednesday."
The Tritons are back in action on Wednesday night against conference opponent Barry University at 7:00 PM at Johnson Field for their final match of the regular season.
