University of North Florida
Stetson
Women’s Soccer Drops Heartbreaker on Late Goal to Stetson, 1-0
10/30/2010 10:49:54 PM | Women's Soccer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida women's soccer team (7-10, 7-3-0 A-Sun) held the A-Sun's second-best offensive squad scoreless for 89 minutes and 50 seconds, but Stetson (8-10-1, 4-5-1 A-Sun) broke through late to defeat the Ospreys, 1-0, in the first-round quarterfinal of the A-Sun Tournament.
The loss ends the season for the North Florida squad that has put together one of the best seasons in school history since transitioning to Division 1 in 2005. This team tied a school record for A-Sun victories in a season with six - the 2007 squad finished 6-5.
“We'd have liked to have a different result for tonight's game, but we're moving towards the future,” head coach Linda Hamilton said. “We were picked to finish ninth in the conference and came away third. We got some experience this year so hopefully we can take this moving forward and grow for next year.”
Senior Lauren Maze was unable to end her career with a win, but moved into fifth in the North Florida record books for matches played. The Melbourne, Fla., native has participated in 78 matches in an Osprey uniform.
“We're sad for the seniors,” Hamilton said. “We wished we could have sent them out better. I thought we had a really good team this year and I thought if we got by this game, we would have had a really good shot to win the tournament. It just wasn't in the cards for us tonight. Stetson gave us a good battle and should make an interesting Final Four.”
Stetson's Alexis Hermosa found the back of the net late in the 89th minute off a free kick from just outside the top of the penalty box. The strike sailed over North Florida's wall and into the top right side of the net, just out of the reach of the Ospreys' goalkeeper.
Freshman forward Carolina Lencina, recently named A-Sun Freshman of the Year, led the match with three shots, putting two on target.
Though the only goal allowed brought an end to the overachieving 2010 North Florida campaign, the Osprey defense continued to shine and limit opponents opportunities to score, allowing Stetson to just five shots compared to North Florida's nine tonight. Only three of North Florida's 18 opponents this year have been able to outshoot the Ospreys. Over the last 15 matches, North Florida has at least equaled its opponents in shots taken and outshot opponents in 12 of those 15.
