JU Women Fall to Late Surge By Team England
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
Five-goal outburst gives Team England 13-11 win.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Midfielder Emily Gray scored her second goal of the game with 9:41 to play to give Team England a lead it wouldn’t relinquish as it beat Jacksonville University 13-11 in an exhibition Wednesday.
Gray’s goal came on a pass from teammate Jane Brierly to break a 9-9 tie for Team England which is on a playing tour of Florida. The English team reeled off three more goals on a run of five consecutive scores to pull to a 13-9 lead.
JU fought back on two late goals, one by sophomore Chelsea Watts and the second by classmate Jen Cosgrove. Cosgrove led all JU scorers with three goals while Watts scored twice.
England’s Lucy Lynch led her team with three goals and an assist for four points for the game.
The teams played even throughout the first half and went to intermission tied at 5. JU had two second-half leads one at 7-6 and the other at 9-8 before England went on its final tear.
“It’s a phenomenal experience for our girls,” JU head coach Mindy McCord said. “England is one of the top teams in the world and we were lucky to have the play us here at JU. As you can see their speed, athleticism and experience were for us to learn from and see what we have to do for the season.”
McCord said fundamentals made a difference in the outcome.
“Fundamentally, they were a little bit stronger with their stick skills and their possession skills,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to play a team of this caliber and get a lot of people a lot of good experience before we start our season.”
The Dolphins’ opener is Feb. 15 at Florida.
VIDEO EXTRA: Jen Cosgrove discusses her 3 goals against Team England