ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Despite trailing early, the Eckerd women's soccer team pulled off a 2-1 upset over Nova Southeastern to close the regular season at Johnson Field on Friday night.
Both teams put pressure on early, each with a shot in the opening ten minutes. The Sharks, however, were first to strike with a goal in the 15th minute for an early 1-0 lead. Eckerd had a pair of chances in the 21st minute, but could not convert. Less than four minutes later, Olivia Ozbolt sent a cross into the box and found Jasmine Gallo to tie the score up at 1-1. Neither team could generate any quality chances in the final 20 minutes of the half, with the score knotted at one apiece heading into the break.
The second half was slow to start before NSU began to put the pressure on. Cadence Talbert made a couple of crucial saves, along with Eckerd defender Sophia Butkovich, stopping one on the goal line in the 68th minute to keep the Sharks from regaining the lead. With less than five minutes to go, Rakel Holmarsdottir collected the ball at the right edge of the 18 and sent the ball in to a crashing Freija Aflenzer who got a touch to nudge the ball past the Sharks' keeper for the late 2-1 lead. Talbert added one more save in the final minutes to secure the Tritons' 2-1 victory.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 2, Nova Southeastern 1
RECORDS: Eckerd 4-5-6 (3-4-3 SSC); Nova Southeastern 4-5-3 (4-2-3 SSC)
SCORING SUMMARY: EC - Gallo 26' (Ozbolt), Aflenzer 87' (Holmarsdottir); NSU - Hernandez 15' (Bereczki)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Four Tritons played the full 90 minutes: Cadence Talbert, Sophia Butkovich, Jasmine Gallo, and Natalie Rudman.
- The Tritons converted on two of their three shots on goal.
- Gallo's goal was her first of the season, while Aflenzer's goal was her fifth.
- Ozbolt and Holmarsdottir's assists were the first of each of their respective careers.
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UP NEXT
Eckerd kicks off SSC Tournament play, earning the no. 6 seed with a rematch against the Sharks on the road Monday at 4:30 PM in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
