Colleges: Carnegie, Panthers end Lions' season

Saint Leo saw its season come to an end as Florida Tech’s Brittany Carnegie scored a second half goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Rollins College in Winter Park.

The win was the Panthers third over the Lions this season, and moves them into the second round against host Rollins on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

“To beat a good team like Saint Leo three times in one season is quite an accomplishment,” Tech head coach Fidgi Haig said. “We came out hungrier tonight, stuck to our plan, stayed composed and came out with a good result. We are all excited to move on and I’m happy for our seniors. Now, we need to put this game behind us and focus on Saturday’s match.”

A defensive mistake in the 61st minute caused the Lions downfall, as Carnegie intercepted a poor pass in the Lions end, putting her in on goal. Saint Leo goalkeeper Cristina Coca saved Carnegie’s initial shot, but Carnegie picked up the rebound, and put it away.

“I’m glad I had the chance to contribute to tonight’s win,” Carnegie said. “I’ve never felt so excited following one of my goals so the feeling is great. It means a lot to us to have an opportunity to face Rollins again. We are looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

The Lions almost answered immediately, but Hannah Beard’s shot was parried by Tech goalkeeper Melissa Pyles, and then went off the post before it was recovered. Beard, who along with Sara Macko and Ana Davila suited up for the final time for the Lions on Thursday, was denied by Pyles again as her header couldn’t find the net with just over two minutes remaining.

Colleges: Lions fall in SSC semifinals

Saint Leo went into Friday night’s Sunshine State Conference tournament semifinal against Rollins eager to avenge the defeat the Tars had inflicted upon it earlier in the season.

No.1 seed and tournament host Rollins wouldn’t allow that to happen, as the Tars advanced to the final with a 4-1 win on Friday night.

After a tight, defensive opening to the game that saw few scoring chances, Rollins took the lead on the half-hour mark. After Chelsea Brady was brought down in the penalty area, Leah Hirsch had her shot saved by Lions goalkeeper Cristina Coca, but Hirsch followed up to score on the rebound.

The Tars doubled their lead just before halftime, as Jessica Mooney scored after Rachel Jakubowski’s header had been blocked.

The Lions had difficulty finding their rhythm, only managing three shots on goal for the game, as Rollins maintained their control in the second half. Ali Schrader scored in the 76th minute to effectively put the game out of reach for the Tars, and while the Lions pulled a goal back through Pia Soesemann in the 86th minute, Schrader answered almost immediately to kill any thought of a comeback.

Now the Lions will have to wait and see as to what their next opponent will be. Coach Ged O’Connor was confident his sides’ victory against Nova Southeastern would be enough to put the Lions in the NCAA Tournament field, but it will remain to be see what happens on Sunday when the bracket gets announced.

Colleges: Darwell's early goal lifts Lions into SSC semis

Chrissy Darwell’s goal 69 seconds into the game proved to be the only one of the game as Saint Leo advanced into the semifinals of the Sunshine State Conference tournament with a 1-0 victory against Nova Southeastern on Tuesday night at University Field.

Ana Davila began the move for the Lions, finding Hannah Beard on the left side of the penalty area. Beard turned her defender, and played the ball back to Darwell, who struck a shot into the opposite corner of the goal.

The Lions continued to press forward to try and add to their lead, Darwell finished with five shots, but were unable to find the net again. That wouldn’t come back to haunt them, though, as the Lions defense allowed only one shot on goal as Cristina Coca earned her third shutout of the season.

The Lions will now face tournament host and No.1-seed Rollins in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Friday night. The Lions lost 3-2 to the Tars on Sept. 23rd, twice holding a lead before goals by Elise Spearing and Charlotte Murrell gave Rollins victory.

Colleges: Lions fall to late goal against No.17 Panthers

Florida Tech’s Teresa Brantley scored in the 18th minute of overtime to give the No.17 Panthers a 1-0 victory, and a season sweep, over Saint Leo at Rick Stottier Field on Tuesday evening.

Kelli Ragan’s pass found Brantley just inside the penalty area, and the forward made a quick move before chipping the ball into the net from 15 yards out. It was Brantley’s 10th goal of the season, and gave the Panthers their 12th victory of the season, setting a new school record.

“I was really frustrated with my play in the beginning of the game so it feels great to help the team earn a win,” Brantley said. “We battled throughout the match and were determined to win. It’s nice to get our 12th victory, but we still have three games ahead of us that we need to concentrate on.”

Both sides had fought to break the deadlock until that point, as Saint Leo’s Cristina Coca had made six saves and Florida Tech’s Melissa Pyles four to keep the game scoreless.

Florida Tech had defeated Saint Leo 4-2 on Oct. 3, and Coach Fidgi Haig was happy to have earned a pair of victories over the Lions in the regular season.

To win two games in one season against a strong team like Saint Leo is not something I imagined at the beginning of the season,” Haig said. “The way we battled and scored that final goal shows a lot of character that I’m sure we will use down the road. The defense and midfield played tremendously. It was good to see Teresa (Brantley) give us another strong effort and make things happen.

“Our 12th win does not mean anything right now. We have more important games ahead of us. We need to start focusing on our next match and reflect on what we have accomplished down the road.”

Saint Leo closes the regular season with a pair of SSC games on the road, travelling to face Nova Southeastern on Saturday afternoon.

Colleges: Macko, Coca lead Lions past Buccaneers

Sara Macko’s sixth goal of the season proved to be enough for Saint Leo to extend its winning streak to three games as the Lions defeated Barry University 1-0 on Tuesday night in Miami Shores.

Macko scored in the ninth minute, scoring after Andrea Lott’s initial shot had been deflected. The Lions (6-2-1, 3-2-0 SSC) maintained their pressure after taking the lead, but weren’t able to find the net against the Buccaneers (3-10-0, 1-4-0) for whom Emily Pratt made 11 saves.

At the other end, the Buccaneers rarely tested Lions goalkeeper Cristina Coca, who made three saves for her second shutout of the season.

The Lions will look to continue their momentum as they face Florida Southern in their final home game of the season on Saturday night.

Colleges: O'Connor upbeat despite latest setback

SAINT LEO – Anyone looking for proof of the existence of Murphy’s Law should probably be focused on the series of unfortunate events that have been a running theme throughout the Saint Leo women’s soccer team’s season so far.

With the other misfortunes already documented, the Lions were dealt a further blow moments before their crucial Sunshine State Conference match with Rollins last week as defender Malloree Enoch suffered a torn ACL in the pregame warm-up. Enoch tried to play, but was only able to last three minutes before it was clear she couldn’t go on.

“That just killed us,” Lions coach Ged O’Connor said. “There’s just been issue after issue after issue, and this is just another one.

“It’s been frustrating, I can’t lie, but it’s not going to be easy, it’s not meant to be easy, so you get up, dust yourself off and go again.”

O’Connor, though, won’t allow the latest setback to cloud his vision of what he believes this season can still be for the Lions. Before Monday afternoon’s practice, O’Connor remained optimistic that despite everything, this season could still be a successful one.

“I’m excited,” O’Connor said. “I’m optimistic. This is why you play sports, you get knocked down, you get back up and you see what you’ve got.”

BIG SHOES TO FILL: When All-American goalkeeper Lauren Hudson graduated after last season, O’Connor knew whoever took her place in net for the Lions would have a big role to fill.

Freshman Cristina Coca, who was a standout in her four years at Bloomingdale, has stepped into the role, and O’Connor is pleased with what he’s seen from her so far.

“Coca’s been doing well,” O’Connor said. “Obviously she’s come in behind Lauren, who was Lauren, and Coca came in knowing she had some big shoes to fill.

“We had a lot of chats about that before she came in, so she knew, and she knows exactly what I expect of her, but moreso what the team needs. They need to have a player they can be confident in.”