Oct. 16, 2006
PENSACOLA, Fla. - After a scoreless first half, ninth ranked West Florida exploded for five second half goals, including three in less than four minutes, in a 5-0 win over NCAA Division II opponent Mars Hill Monday evening at the UWF Soccer Complex. It was the second time this season that the Argonauts scored five goals in a half. West Florida (11-2-2) won their sixth straight, while Mars Hill (9-7-1) lost their second straight.
"Mars Hill stretched us physically tonight since we played yesterday," said head coach Joe Bartlinski. "We had the opportunity to play a quality opponent tonight and we played very well."
Despite outscoring Mars Hill 14-6 in the first half, West Florida was unable to score. However, West Florida found the back of the net in the second half while playing under gusty winds and intermittent rain. Senior Valerie Noppinger (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo HS) scored the first Argonaut goal on assists from Marcela Franco (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Visconde de Porto Seguro) and Patricia Toledo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Cloud County CC). Less than two minutes later, senior Kelly Anne St. Clair (Casteries, St. Lucia/Lassen College) beat a Lion defender in the box and scored to give West Florida a 2-0 advantage.
Just over two minutes after St. Clair's goal, Toledo found a streaking Amanda Light (Lebanon, Pa./James Madison Univ.) for her second goal of the season. Freshman Jodi Galucci (Stuart, Fla./South Fork HS) netted her fourth goal of the season in the 82nd minute on an assist from St. Clair. After receiving a pass from Lura Carter (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon HS), Toledo broke free and completed the Argonaut scoring with her sixth goal of the season.
Freshman Courtney Jones (Panama City, Fla./Bay HS) collected six saves for her eighth shutout of the season. Jones has not allowed a goal in her last 553 minutes. Mars Hill goalkeeper Claudia Cala tallied 11 saves in the loss. West Florida held a 35-12 advantage in shots, including a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.
West Florida will return to conference action this Friday at Montevallo. The match will begin at 5:00 p.m.
