THE RECAP
The Rattlers opened their season at Sigma Beta Chi Field with a hard-fought loss to the Argonauts of West Florida on Sunday afternoon. Despite a large crowd that turned out on a sun-soaked day, the Rattlers (0-1) fell behind early and were not able to complete the comeback against an argressive West Florida squad (0-1).
The Argonauts came out on fire with three goals in the first 25 minutes. The Rattlers had a chance to respond in the first half when Kylie Von Holle earned a penalty kick. Trying to go low on the right side, Holle fired a bullet towards the net, but had it knocked aside by the Argonauts keeper. The Rattlers did crack the scoring sheet in the second half, however, as a goal by Eliza Merrion in the 53rd minute found the twine. Merrion received a touch pass from Alexis Lawrence and stepped into a high arching drive from well outside the attacking box. Merrion's ball flew just under the crossbar to the delight of the home faithful.
The Rattlers fought hard all afternoon long, battling the opponent and temperature in the high 90s. The defense stepped up the challenge after taking early punches and went on the attack, only allowing two shots on goal in the second half.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- This was the first ever meeting between the two schools.
- Despite a bevy of shot attempts, each goalkeeper only tallied two saves to their score sheets.
- The Rattlers earned four corner kicks in the second half, an important note in the comeback mounted by the Gold and Blue.
HEAD COACH KEVIN DRIGGS ON THE OPENER
"We had too slow of a start. When you go down three goals in the first twenty-five minutes, it's hard to win that game. But these girls fought hard all game long and did not quit. West Florida was a fast, athletic team and I hope we can use them as a good example. We just need to learn from this and learn how to handle pressure."
UP NEXT
The Rattlers head to Bethany, Oklahoma to take on Southern Nazarene University for the first of a two-game road trip. This game is scheduled to be played on Thursday, September 9th at 5 pm.
