The Stetson women's soccer team dominated a sparse Spartan squad 4-0 for its fourth consecutive victory in A-Sun conference play. It was the Hatters' fifth win in the past six games.
Stetson Opened the scoring at 40:50 of the first half when senior Jennifer Hays (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) picked up the rebound of a Kelsey Kramer (Satellite Beach, Fla.) blast off the crossbar and delivered it to the back of the net. It was the third goal of the season for Hays.
The second goal came less than two minutes later as the Hatters continued to press the attack. Freshman Tessa Gavilsky (Granite City, Ill.) scored an impressive goal with a firm header off the corner kick by senior Julianne Turnbull (DeLand, Fla.). It was Gavilsky's third goal and Turnbull's third assist of the season. Heading into the half Stetson held a 13-3 advantage in shots.
“Offensively we really got going when Jessica (Spencer) and Heather (Berg) came in the first half”, said Hatters Head Coach Julie Orlowski. “After that we immediately started getting good scoring chances.”
The same two players, who seemed to spark the offense in the first half, continued in the second and scored the third and fourth goals.
In the 50th minute Kramer floated a pass over the defense and sent Spencer (Damascus, MD) in alone for a one-on-one with the keeper. The advantage went to Spencer as she scored her third goal of the season. Eight minutes later Berg (Ft. Myers, Fla.) scored the game's final tally with an assist from junior Rachel Sweeney (Falls Church, Vir.). It was the second goal of the season for Berg.
In all Stetson had 11 players who registered shots. The Hatters had 25 players who added minutes to the box score including two goalkeepers. Freshman goalie Caitlyn Peterson (Ocala, Fla.) entered with 15:43 to play and combined with starter Andrea Garavaglia (Webster Groves, MO) for the shutout. It was the team's third shutout in the past four games. Stetson finished with a 24-3 advantage in shots.
“It was nice to have the opportunity to use our depth and give some players a chance to play”, said Orlowski. “The experience we gained tonight could go a long way heading into the conference tournament.”
Stetson raised its record to 7-8-1 overall and 5-4-0 in A-Sun play. USC Upstate dropped to 3-12-0 overall and 1-8-0 in conference. Stetson returns to the field Sunday at 1:00 p.m. to host East Tennessee State. A win Sunday would lock up a spot in the A-Sun tournament for the Hatters.
