EFSC women's soccer team blanks Iowa Western in tourney opener
The Eastern Florida State College women's soccer team looked sharp in shutout win over No. 9 Iowa Western Community College on the first day of the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament Monday night at Titan Soccer Complex.
The No. 4 seeded Titans used a strong passing attack to pick up the 4-0 victory in a Pool D contest.
"We were up for this game, I think that is the best we have played this year," Eastern Florida State College women's soccer coach Jeff Carr said. "Our movement off the ball was fantastic tonight, we were pinging the ball all over the place and I think they had a hard time marking us."
Nathali Da Silva got the Titans on the board in the 27th minute when the Titans were fouled in the box, leading to a penalty kick. The sophomore put it in the left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Sarah Chamale found Cristina Garriga who headed it into the back of the net with two minutes remaining in the first half to make it 2-0. It was Garriga's 12th goal of the season.
Da Silva scored her second goal of the game on a nice cross from Ebony Wiseman as Da Silva turned and hit a low rocket right into the corner of the net.
The final goal of the night came in the 70th minute as Da Silva chipped a ball across the field as she was falling down and Wiseman blasted it into the upper corner of the night from 30 yards out.
"Everyone was nervous and excited for this game, but we came out and showed who we are. Our goal is to play possession soccer. The first 20 minutes we were running like crazy but then we started to find each other and play our game," Da Silva said. "Everyone was nervous and excited for this game but we came out and showed who we are."
The Titans will play No. 5 Schoolcraft College Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Titan Soccer Complex.
"It is one game but it is a great start to hopefully build on," Carr said. "Schoolcraft is a really good team, a hardnosed blue-collar team so we will have our hands full with them."
EFSC's 5:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 15 match will be broadcast live on WEFS-TV and available via the station's @easternflorida YouTube Channel at no charge.
The NJCAA is livestreaming all tournament matches through a pay-per-view plan at njcaatv.com and the NJCAA offers four pricing options.
