LAKELAND, Fla. - With a spot in the SSC Championship match on the line, Florida Tech traveled to No. 1 seed Florida Southern. The match came down to penalty kicks and the Panthers didn't miss a beat, winning 5-3 to keep their season alive.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 1, RV Florida Southern 1 (Tech wins 5-3 on PK's)
Records: Florida Tech (8-5-3, 5-4-1 SSC) Florida Southern (12-1-4, 8-1-1 SSC)
Location: Berend Field | Lakeland, Fla.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Jessica Cravero came close to giving Florida Tech the lead in the 21' with a header that just went over the crossbar.
- At the half, the Panthers had outshot the Moc's 8-1.
- Tech started the second half with a bang as Cristina Garriga scored a headed goal in the 48' that was assisted by Marem Ndiongue and Halla Helgadottir.
- Florida Southern immediately responded in the 52' with a headed goal of their own by Morgan Elliott.
- The match stalled out scoring wise, which sent it to overtime.
- The Panthers best chance in Overtime was when Lauryn Wood found the end of a loose ball in front of the net, but her shot was right at Southern's keeper.
- Despite the match ending 1-1, Florida Tech outshot the Mocs 22-4.
- The Panthers gained control of the penalty shootout when Maria Sanchez Recuero saved the Mocs second kick.
- Helgadottir, Daniela Tobon, Cravero, and Garriga all smashed their penalties into the back of the net to give Tech a 4-3 advantage in the shootout.
- Sanchez Recuero came up to take the fifth penalty and made no mistake with it to advance the Panthers to the Championship match.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Florida Tech improves to 14-8-5 all-time vs Florida Southern
- The Panthers are now 1-1-2 all-time in matchups in the SSC Tournament.
- Garriga's opening goal was her fourth of the season.
- Ndiongue has registered an assist in both SSC Tournament matches.
- Dating back to last season, Florida Tech is 4-1 in penalty shootouts.
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will travel to No. 3 seed Embry-Riddle for the SSC Championship match on Sunday, November 6th. It will be a rematch of the 2021 SSC Championship, when the Panthers were defeated 1-0.
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