Nov. 2, 2007
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The West Florida Women's Soccer team just doesn't give their opponents many opportunities to score. The West Florida defense has not allowed a goal in 880 minutes, following the 1-0 shutout of Harding in the Gulf South Conference Semifinal match at Brosnaham Park Friday afternoon. The Argos (15-2) will play against Montevallo (12-5-1) in the Conference Final Sunday morning at 11:30 AM at Brosnaham Park in Pensacola. Montevallo defeated Ouachita Baptist 2-1, in the other semifinal match on Friday.
Only five minutes into the contest, Brandi Adams (Sr. / Gulf Breeze, Fla.) hit the crossbar on a shot, and despite not scoring, it set the tone of the constant West Florida attack on the Harding defense. Then, only ten minutes into the match, Adams had a nifty pass to Dernelle Mascall (So. / Trinidad) for a goal from the right side of the box, to put the Argos up 1-0. Mascall's goal was her 23rd on the season, while the entire opposition has only scored six.
Harding (9-9-1) worked hard for a few shot opportunities, but the Argo defense really focused on Kendyl Washburn, the top scoring option for the Lady Bison, and limited her touches. The Argos Linda Ganehed (Fr. / Winter Park, Fla.) was assigned to mark up Washburn and was right with her all match long. West Florida Coach Joe Bartlinski was excited about his defenders, "Linda did a fantastic job stopping the GSC player of the year (Washburn), and allowing her zero shots on goal. What's even more exciting is Linda is a freshmen and several other of our young players are playing real well too."
Goalkeeper Courtney Jones (So. / Panama City, Fla.) had four saves in the first half, including a spectacular one with 4:31 left in the first half, as Harding worked very hard to try to get some offense going. Meanwhile, West Florida had eight shots in the first half, with three close calls and the one goal. Harding Goalkeeper Chelsea Hornbeck also had a great save to stop a Dernelle Mascall shot with 2:31 left in the first half. The Argos held a slim 1-0 lead at the half, and it would be all they needed.
The second half started with both defenses playing well, as twenty minutes disappeared with only one shot on goal, until the Argos had back to back shots inside the box, which Harding was able to defend. Mascall had a header blocked, followed by a shot by Lura Carter (Jr. / Tallahassee, Fla.), which was saved by Hornbeck. Meanwhile, the Argos defense only allowed one shot on goal for the first 43 minutes of the second half. The center defender Marie Hastings (Sr. / Gainesville, Fla.) just wouldn't let anything get past her. The Bisons did manage a corner kick with 12 minutes left, but couldn't keep it in play. Finally, in the last two minutes, Harding had a flurry of attacks, but the Argo defense stopped every one.
The victory by the Argonauts sets up a chance for the Argos to repeat as Conference Champions, as they defeated Ouachita Baptist on the same field by a 1-0 in last year's conference final. The UWF Women have made the Conference tournament 11 times, and 11 times they have played in the championship game. Coach Bartlinski gave a lot of credit to Harding for making the contest a nailbitter. "They were facing elimination and they came with everything they had, and played very well. We expect the same thing Sunday, as Montevallo will be facing elimination, and they will play a good 90 minutes. They (Montevallo) have quality players and an outstanding coach, so this will be a very tough match." The Conference title and post-season seeding is at stake, and it all takes place at Brosnaham Park on Sunday at 11:30 AM.
