Polk Soccer grounds Gyrenes on Sophomore Night
No. 10 Polk State Soccer honored its 12 graduating sophomores Monday evening with a resounding 5-0 shutout over Ave Maria University. With the win, the Eagles concluded the regular season 15-1 —the program's highest win total in more than a decade.
Subbing on the field in the 14th minute, freshman forward Lovelie Pierre made her presence felt quickly, slotting a ball past the Ave Maria keeper just 44 seconds after entering the match. The goal came off excellent build up play from Raisa Lugo and Jillian Johnson.
Johnson found the scorer's touch herself in the 36th minute, burying a cross from Lugo top shelf to double the Polk advantage. The Eagles took the 2-0 lead into the half, outshooting the Gyrenes 16-5 over the first 45 minutes of action.
Pierre notched her second goal of the match in the 67th minute, coming off the bench once again to beat the Ave Maria keeper one-on-one after a nice over the top ball from Rachelle Caremus to grow the Polk lead to 3-0.
Lugo made her presence felt late in the match with multiple tallies to punctuate the Polk victory. First, the Oviedo native one-touched a cross in the box from Melissa Del Valle in the 76th minute. In the 80th minute, Lugo slotted a through ball from Johnson near post.
Lugo's two goals helped her break her own single-season program record for goals scored. She now has 26 on the season. With two assists on the match, Johnson now has an NJCAA-leading 20 helpers on the year.
"It was awesome to celebrate our sophomores and all of their contributions to the program with a total team effort today," shared Polk Head Coach Jessica Belli. "It was especially meaningful to honor our five third-year sophomores, who chose to spend their extra year of COVID(-19) eligibility with our program. They have helped build the winning culture of this program in so many ways."
The Eagles now await their seeding in the Region 8 Tournament. The semifinal match is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. with the final at the same time on Sunday.
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