Sunday, August 14, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida women's soccer team received a two-goal performance by freshman midfielder Elizabeth Gowan to score a 2-1 win over in-state rival Rollins College in an exhibition match at UNF Soccer Stadium on Sunday.

Gowan's two goals erased an early 1-0 UNF deficit.

"Elizabeth's two goals were big for us," UNF head coach Mike Munch said. "Going into any season you are concerned with where your goals are going to come from, so if we have a player step up and prove that they can score goals for us we're going to put them out on the field. Elizabeth did a nice job today of scoring goals when we needed them."

The Tars struck first when freshman Dana Merrill found sophomore Cristina Saenz streaking down the right side of the field. Merrill hit Saenz in stride and the sophomore forward did the rest, sending the ball into the back left corner of the net at the 24-minute mark of the match to give Rollins a 1-0 lead.

The Lady Ospreys knotted the match at one goal apiece when Gowan slipped past the Tars' defenders in the 32nd minute of the match to score the first of two unassisted goals.

Gowan added the game winner at the 50-minute mark of the match.

The Lady Ospreys outshot the Tars 9-4. Freshman midfielder Amanda Wallace led the charge for UNF with three shots. Gowan added two, while sophomore Jessica Jowers, junior Courtney Forson, senior Lauren Winn and freshman Alex Billeter each tallied one shot.

Freshman goalkeeper Rachael Howard recorded the win in goal for UNF. Howard tallied three saves on the afternoon.

Overall, Munch was pleased with what he saw from his squad.

"This is a starting point," Munch said. "It was a good chance for us to come out and work on some things that we haven't really had the chance to work on yet, and it gave me the chance to kind of evaluate where we stand at this point. I saw some things we need to grow in and learn, but that's expected. I saw a lot of good things, too. I was pleased with the effort our girls put out and the way they battled the whole match. There's a lot we can build on from this."

The Lady Ospreys will host Armstrong Atlantic on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET in their final exhibition match before kicking off the regular season against McNeese State on Aug. 26.