WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 25, 2006) ' The
Florida Tech women's soccer team came into'Wednesday night's'match
as the fifth seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, and
on in the tourney quarterfinal at Barker Family Stadium they
knocked off fourth seeded Rollins 1-0 in overtime thanks to a goal
by Ericka Hildreth.' The Panthers improved their overall record to
8-4-5, and the Tars fell to 10-5-3.
The game-winning goal came in the 96th minute, and Hildreth
collected the through ball from passes by Jennifer Dunn and Tara
Eugenides on her way to her fourth goal of the year.' The assists
were the fifth of the year for Eugenides and the third for
Dunn.
The match was fairly even for the majority of its 96 minutes.'
Rollins finished the game with more shots than Florida Tech
(20-15), but they had less shots on goal (nine) than the Panthers
(10).' The Tars put the pressure on the Florida Tech defense,
especially in the second half when they fired off 13 shots, but
they could not prevent the Panthers from scoring in the overtime
period.
'It was an even match,' Florida Tech Head Coach Fitzgerald Haig
described.' 'We got the break at the end.' That's what the playoffs
are all about.' We were both evenly matched teams but only one
could advance.'
The Panthers feature eight seniors on their team, including the
two players that assisted on the game's lone goal.' They knew that
a loss could mean the end of the season for them.
'Our seniors wanted it bad,' Haig commented.' 'They pushed hard
and came through for us.'
Rollins also featured several seniors on its team, and they knew
that without a win it would be very difficult to gain entry to the
NCAA Regionals.
'They've done a great job,' Rollins Head Coach Tony Amato
answered in reference to his group of senior players.' 'Alison
Tradd has been outstanding, and her leadership abilities have
developed so much.' Lindsay Taylor has been a rock for us on
defense.' She is so committed to this team, and she gave everything
she could.' I'm very proud of the entire team.'
The Tars were doing everything they could to put a goal on the
board towards the end of the game, firing off seven shots in the
final 20 minutes of regulation.
'I felt that we had the momentum,' Amato explained.' 'We carried
it into the overtime period, but that shot was their first real
chance in the overtime.' It only takes one chance.'
The Panthers will continue in the tournament and face Tampa, the
first seed in the conference and the eighth-ranked team in the
nation.' That game will be played at Tampa at 7:00 p.m., and it
will be preceded' at 4:30 p.m. by the other semifinal game
featuring third-seeded Nova Southeastern and second-seeded Saint
Leo.' The winner of the semifinals will meet on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
for the championship game.
