Womens Soccer Starts Season Strong
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Women’s Soccer) – After a convincing exhibition game against, Florida International, a Division I
school, the Panthers continued their streak into the regular season, beating the Embry Riddle Eagles by a score of 3-1. This win was important to
all of the returning Panthers after suffering a loss to the Eagles last season. “This win was amazing, especially over Embry Riddle which is a
little bit of a rival for us,” said sophomore defender Jennifer Gillette, whom head coach
Fidgi Haig commended for her play in the win. The win wasn’t
just amazing, but an exciting match to watch. Florida Tech started quickly with a goal in the first six minutes of the game. Sophomore Therese Svensson, playing forward
instead of midfielder for this match, attacked the Embry Riddle keeper to see the shot blocked. However, Svensson took advantage of the rebound to pass the
ball to sophomore forward Teresa
Brantley who shot left for the first goal of the match. “The early goal helped us establish momentum in the match,” Brantley said.
That momentum carried the team to another goal, just two minutes later when sophomore defender Rachel Devlin told her teammates she
expected a Panther score off of sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Pyles’ next punt. Her teammates
responded. Freshman midfielder Alyssa Esposito headed the punt to
Brantley who passed to Svensson. The Embry Riddle keeper could not deny Svensson a second time. At halftime Florida Tech had a stronghold on the
match, but Embry Riddle was able to score a goal 10 minutes into the second half. Haig was impressed by the Panthers’ character and perseverance to
respond. Freshman defender DeeDee Newland finished an assist by
Svensson to score Florida Tech’s third goal of the night with just over 15 minutes left to play to ice the game for the Panthers. “DeeDee’s goal was
big for us,” said Haig. “It was the goal that sealed the deal.” Even though Florida Tech started the season with a great outing, Haig sees more
steps for the team to take. “We’re still gelling, and we have a lot to learn,” the coach said. “We’re very young and inexperienced so we have to be
sure to take it one game at a time.” His players agree. Gillette and Brantley both offered constructive criticism on the team’s play as well as
their individual performances. That said the players feel they can develop into a formidable team to make this season one to remember.
“We’re not where we should be yet in terms of physical shape, but as a team we’re working well together and communicating with each other well,” Brantley
said. “We just have to keep taking it game by game.”
