DeLand, Fla. - The Stetson women's soccer team was a bit rusty in its season opener as it dropped a 3-0 game to Florida International Friday night at the Stetson Soccer Complex. The Hatters (0-1-0) played a much better game than the final score would suggest.
"They were opportunistic tonight", said Stetson head coach Julie Orlowski. "They deserved to win this game, yet we were not far behind."
Florida International (1-0-0) certainly did take advantage of their opportunities. The first goal of the game was the result of a penalty kick at 22:16 of the first half. Mayara Bordin (Santa Catalina, Brazil) was tripped up just inside the box allowing her the easy chance for the first goal of her senior season. Twelve minutes later Kassandra Sorzano (Miami, Fla.) gave the visitors a 2-0 lead with a nice header off an indirect kick by Kaley Durrance (Palm Coast, Fla.).
Seven minutes into the second half the Panthers completed the scoring when Thaisa Moreno (Xambre, Brasil) flipped the ball over Stetson keeper Andrea Garavaglia (Webster Groves, Mo.) who came well out of the goal mouth to stop the attack. The ball slowly rolled toward the open net as Garavaglia chased and reached the line just too late.
"We had our opportunities as well", said Orlowski. "We made a lot of unusual mistakes that we won't make again."
Garavaglia found herself in some tough circumstances all night. One issue she had to deal with was the absence of starting defender and team anchor Elise Ketcham (Deltona, Fla.) who was not able to play due to illness.
Some bright spots for the Hatters included some solid minutes played by freshmen Christina Cromwell (Cary, NC) and Kassandra Hartwick (Granite City, Ill.), the first of their college careers. Also playing her heart out all night was junior Kristen Higel (St. Augustine, Fla.).
Tessa Gavilsky (Granite City, Ill.), Heather Berg (Ft. Myers, Fla.) and Courtney Jenista (Pensacola, Fla.) each tallied a shot for Stetson. Garavaglia registered five saves.
The Hatters will return to the field Sunday when they travel to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic at 4:00 p.m. Stetson returns home to play Embry-Riddle on Thursday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m.
