WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— The Palm Beach Atlantic women's soccer squad carried its momentum into Sunshine State Conference play with a 1-0 victory over Florida Southern College Saturday evening. The Sailfish, who moved to 4-1 on the season, extended their win streak in SSC matches to four with the triumph.
With each of the last four competitions between the schools being decided by a single goal, expectations were high that the conference-opener would be a tight one.
After both teams notched chances in the opening few minutes, Palm Beach Atlantic struck first with a moment of brilliance.
A surging run forward by Cheyenne Beck put the ball in a dangerous location as the Sailfish attacked just over 14 minutes into play. As a Florida Southern defender attempted to clear the defensive zone, the ball ricocheted to the left foot of Karina Williams, who made the Moccasins pay by blasting a shot into the near corner of the net with her first touch. The tally marked the second goal of the junior's season, as Williams has recorded a point in each of the past three games.
For the remainder of the night, the Sailfish would adopt the tough mentality of bending but not breaking defensively.
The Moccasins (3-3) threatened with an abundance of corner kicks throughout the match, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities. Florida Southern, who earned 12 corners to PBA's mere one, saw its attempts cleared out of the box one after another.
Madison Chiola also played an integral part in defending the one-goal advantage in net. The Hammonton, N.J. native blocked away all seven of the Moccasins' seven shots on frame, including a potential game-tying goal with just seconds left, to preserve her third clean sheet of the season.
Overall, the Sailfish came away victors thanks to Williams' early strike and a defensive mindset that has seen them through so far this year.
Palm Beach Atlantic, who has only allowed two goals in five contests, continued its defensive dominance by sitting back and waiting to counterattack after going up.
The Sailfish will look to extend their three-game win streak when they host Saint Leo University on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Rinker Athletic Campus.
