DADE CITY, Fla. – For the second consecutive year, the University of West Florida women's soccer team eliminated Nova Southeastern from the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win. This time, senior
Sara Helgadottir scored the lone goal of the game, and UWF picked up its 16th shutout of the season, a total that ranks second all-time in Gulf South Conference women's soccer history.
"Nova's a very difficult team, and our players knew that, and they had to give it their all and they did," head coach
Joe Bartlinski said. "Our players worked very hard. This group has some very good qualities, so we look forward to the matchup on Sunday (against Saint Leo)."
Though both teams were held scoreless for the first 34 minutes of play, West Florida outshot NSU 8-2 and had five corner kicks before Helgadottir found the net with 10 minutes left in the first half. The goal was Helgadottir's fifth of the season, and she got an assist from junior
Kaljit Atwal, who ranks third on the team with seven helpers.
West Florida kept up the pressure for the remainder of the game, totaling 18 shots, nine of which were on target, and NSU keeper Ida Norstrom made seven saves on the day against a strong UWF offense.
Marjorie Boilesen and
Kaley Ward each led UWF with two shots on goal and put on a combined eight shots.
UWF was in top form defensively, as well, allowing Nova Southeastern to get off just five shots all day. In what is becoming a common theme, the Argonauts held NSU's top attacker, 2016 Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year Hannah Christophe, without a shot in her 59 minutes on the pitch. Christophe ranks second in the SSC in goals, with 10.
The shutout was the seventh for UWF keeper
Katelyn Burkhart, who has also played a part in eight other UWF shutouts.
Friday's win was UWF's 20th in the NCAA Tournament, a total that leads all GSC teams.
UWF faces region host Saint Leo at 1 pm ET on Sunday at University Soccer Field on the campus of Saint Leo University. The Lions enter Sunday as the 2-seed in the South Region at 13-3-1, and they won the Sunshine State Conference regular season and conference titles.
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