PENSACOLA, Fla. – In round two of the heavyweight battle between No. 7 West Florida and North Alabama in the Gulf South Conference Tournament at Brosnaham Park on Sunday, UWF came out the victor again but only after surviving two overtime periods and penalty kicks. After 110 minutes of play the score was tied 2-2, and UWF defeated the Lions 5-4 in penalty kicks to claim the team’s seventh GSC championship and third in a row.
The official result of the game was a tie, and UWF won the championship on penalty kicks. UWF (17-2-1, 7-0 GSC) clinched the title in the ninth round of penalties, as freshman Alexis Pugh (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville HS) stepped up and drove the ball inside the left post to send the Argonauts home with the trophy. With the tournament win, the Argonauts earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s always nice to bring home the hardware,” said UWF head coach Joe Bartlinski, “but we are interested in the big picture. We will celebrate and enjoy this for the next day and a half, and we’ll watch the national selections on Monday as a team, but we’ll be back preparing for the regional tournament on Tuesday.”
Junior Jordan Stone (Fort Walton Beach, Fla./Fort Walton Beach HS) scored the first goal of the match in the 38th minute; she attempted a free kick from 25 yards out, but UNA’s Julie Osmond was given a yellow card on the attempt, giving UWF a second try. Stone took advantage of the second opportunity, directing the ball through a crowd of players and into the net for her fifth of the season. UWF went into halftime ahead 1-0, and they also held a shot advantage of 10-6.
The early minutes of the second half were dominated by West Florida, as the Argos attempted several shots on goal resulting in numerous sprawling saves by UNA’s Alex McLay. UNA turned it around when Jo Chub scored in the 68th minute; Chub tied the score at 1-1 after receiving a pass from Chloe Roberts and powering an open shot past the diving Ali Ryan (Batemans Bay, Australia/Darton) from 25 yards out.
West Florida senior Shakira Duncan (Kingston, Jamaica/Darton) took matters into her own hands in the 78th minute, dribbling by a defender down the left sideline to find freshman Alexis Garrand (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips HS) open in the box. Garrand, fresh off the bench, scored the open look to give the Argos a 2-1 lead. The goal was the fifth of the year for Garrand and the 11th assist for Duncan.
With the time running out on North Alabama, Roberts kept the Lions alive with a highlight reel goal with 33 seconds left in regulation. Roberts spun around several players in the box and blasted a goal past Ryan to tie the score at 2-2 and send the game into overtime.
The match was only the fourth in GSC tournament history to go into overtime and the first since 2004. Both teams fought hard with limited opportunities until Roberts put a clean cross into the box for Jennifer Osmond. Osmond missed an open header over the crossbar, leading to a second overtime period for both teams. The match was the third in GSC tournament history to reach double overtime.
The final 10 minutes of overtime produced more action for the Argonauts as they blasted three consecutive shots on goal in the early minutes, including a Jodi-Ann Robinson (Richmond, British Columbia/Palmer Secondary School) breakaway. McLay again stepped up and made a beautiful save on Robinson’s attempt, one of 10 saves she had in the match.
After 110 minutes of action, the match would be the first ever in GSC tournament history to be determined by a penalty kick shootout. It was a battle of wills for McLay and Ryan, as both made saves on three of the first five attempts, sending the penalties into a sudden victory shootout.
West Florida’s Ann Ilin Osland (Vikeså, Norway/Bryne Videregående) and Tori Fish (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire HS) each stepped up and made their penalties in the sixth and seventh rounds, and so did UNA’s Stephanie Bradshaw and Julie Osmond. After misses by UNA’s Danielle Vaughan and UWF’s Rachel Cutts (Pensacola, Fla./Ole Miss) in the eighth round, the score was still tied at 4-4. UNA’s Beth Spurr was unsuccessful in the her attempt in the ninth round, and Pugh stepped up and sent UWF home with the win with a low liner into the left corner.
“It is exciting but disappointing at the same time,” said Duncan, the tournament Most Outstanding Player. “The game-tying goal by Roberts with 33 seconds left in regulation was tough. They are the most difficult team we have played all year, and we have to give kudos to them.”
Duncan and four other Argonauts earned spots on the GSC All-Tournament Team, including Tina Murray (Kingston, Jamaica/Meridian CC), Noha Saleh (Wellington, Fla./Nova Southeastern), Garrand and Robinson.
West Florida will look to be one of the top two seeds in the NCAA South Regional and potentially host the first two rounds at the UWF Soccer Complex next weekend. The top six seeds in the South Region will advance to NCAA regional play in women’s soccer, and the tournament selections will be announced in a selection show webcast at 6 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
“We know that every opponent from here on out will be this tough,” explained Duncan, “and we have to prepare accordingly.”
For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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