Fort Myers, Fla. - After an hour and a half rain delay the Stetson women's soccer team dropped the opening game of the Embassy Suites Kickoff Classic 2-0 to West Point. West Point, also known as Army raised its record to 2-1-1 on the season, Stetson is now 2-3-0. The Kickoff Classic is being hosted by FGCU in Fort Myers.
Army opened the scoring 10 minutes into the first half on a goal by Deanna Clegg from the top right side of the box. The goal was assisted by Melissa McLaws. The rest of the opening period was scoreless with both teams having their opportunities at goal. Stetson trailed 7-6 in shots at the half and the teams were tied 1-1 in corner kicks.
Stetson stayed close in the second half until another goal by Army 14 minutes in took some of the air out of the attack. Stetson never relented however and fought to the end. The teams tied 4-4 in shots in the second half, while Stetson's steady attack resulted in a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
"Overall this was one of the worst 90 minutes of soccer we have played in years", said Stetson Head coach Julie Orlowski. "Credit to Army, they had three great chances and put two in."
Tessa Gavilsky (Granite City, Il.), Heather Berg (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Katie Bitetto (Jacksonville, Fla.) led the Hatters in shots with two each. Andrea Garavaglia (Webster Groves, Mo.) faced 11 shots overall and finished with four saves.
"The best thing about playing like this on Friday is that redemption can come in just 48 hours", said Orlowski. "Hopefully we can end the weekend on a good note against Tennessee-Martin."
"One good thing... Christina Cromwell, Crossley Simmons and Kristen Higel came to play tonight", she added.
Stetson will play Tennessee-Martin on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
