University of North Florida
Francis Marion
UNF earns Peach Belt win against Francis Marion
2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 13, 2004
FLORENCE, S.C. (Oct. 13, 2004) - Sophomore midfielder Courtney Forson scored on an 11-yard shot early in the second half to lift the University of North Florida to a 2-1 Peach Belt Conference win over Francis Marion University, Wednesday afternoon in women's soccer action, knocking the Patriots from atop the PBC standings.
"Any time you can get a win over a good team on the road is very good," said UNF head coach Mike Munch.
UNF, the preseason favorite to win the conference title, improves to 8-2-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference, and hands FMU only its 12th-ever home loss in 84 matches. Francis Marion falls to 7-3 and 3-1.
North Florida, which entered the match having allowed only nine goals in 11 matches, held the nation's 11th-ranked scoring offense to only five shots and one first-half goal.
FMU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Cyprian Gillingham scored on a short 3-yard shot from in front of the goal at the 1:12 mark. A cross from Katie Riley and a short pass from Ashley Fortune led to the score.
"We played well, even though we didn't start off very well," Munch said. "We were very sluggish, but we worked our way into the game."
UNF knotted the score in the 30th minute (29:08) when Diana Hemke scored on a penalty kick, her team-leading sixth goal of the season. The penalty kick was called after a Lady Osprey blasted a pass off the hand of Patriot midfielder Mollie Jones in the box. FMU senior goalkeeper Jackie Bateman got a hand on Hemke's shot, but was unable to keep it from rolling into the net. Forson scored her fifth goal of the season and the match-winning goal off an assist from Hemke at 53:19.
North Florida outshot FMU 16-5 and led 10-1 in corner kicks. Freshman goalkeeper Heather Gosselin registered three saves in the win, while Bateman recorded five saves. Francis Marion was held to only one shot over the final 35 minutes.
"The second half we played particularly well and really limited what they could do," Munch said.
UNF next faces off in a road match against former Peach Belt foe Kennesaw State. Kennesaw won the Division II national championship last season and now competes at the Division I level. The Lady Ospreys' next home match will be Oct. 19 against Covenant College, the first of four straight home games to close the regular season.
