WSOC: JU women's soccer wins hard-fought thriller over UNF, 1-0
Goalkeeper Alexa Rooney shines in Dolphins' victory
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Oct. 19, 2009 It was another epic installation of the Jacksonville Derby as the JU women's soccer team defeated cross-town rivals UNF, 1-0, in front of a rowdy crowd at the Ashley Sports Complex. The Dolphins also earned one more point towards retaining the "Old Wooden Barrel" in the SunTrust River City Rivalry with tonight's victory.

The Dolphins (7-6-3, 4-1-3 Atlantic Sun) were led by freshman Eva Leeper who scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Rooney was fantastic between the pipes as she made several crucial and spectacular saves during the contest. The Osprey's (5-9-3, 2-4-2) outshot the Dolphins, 15-6, keeping pressure on the home side.

"It was a fantastic effort from everybody tonight," said head coach Brian Copham. "It's always going to be a battle when you play UNF and we hung in there through the last second. I can't thank the fans enough for coming and supporting us tonight, it really lifted us."

The first half opened with an early goal from the Dolphins. Freshman forward Lisa Hensley pressured a clear at the top of the box and it took a deflection off of a defender. Senior goalie Rachel Howard ran out to play the deflected ball but Freshman Lisa Hensley was there to put the ball away for the opening score for the Dolphins, 47 seconds into the match.

The home team looked to double its lead in the 12th minute off a corner from junior midfielder Liz Fink. Fink serviced a great ball to the back side of the goal and two Dolphins had chances at the ball but it was shot high over the goal by junior defender Devon Dowell.

JU applied more pressure in the 39th minute with two opportunities from the Dolphins. The first chance saw senior defender Regan Riley win a ball at midfield and take it down the field with Vrcelj and Massip keeping even. The ball found its way to Massip who won a corner. Leeper would fire a ball after the corner that was collected nicely by Howard.

The second half saw an early chance for the Ospreys in the 51st minute when the visitors took a deflected ball into the box. Kristin Rhodes took a shot that was heading for the top left corner but Rooney made a fantastic diving save to keep the ball out of the net. The ensuing corner was cleared away nicely by the Dolphins.

Rooney would be called upon again when Rhodes again took a shot, this time from 30 yards out, that seemed destined for goal. Rooney came up with another incredible save as the ball rolled slowly and dramatically across the face of the goal but didn't cross the line as the crowd of 663 watched with bated breath.

Another chance came to UNF when a crossed ball fell in between two defenders with one Osprey in the middle. The ball bounced around before Rooney came out to make another great play.

JU would find several opportunities during the first 20 minutes of the half but it was sporadic as UNF continuously applied pressure on the home defense.

Play was fairly even throughout the middle portion of the half with both teams creating several opportunities. The Dolphins looked to double their lead when Hensley received a great through ball that saw her in on goal but she was a half-step too slow to beat Howard.

The final minute of the game was filled with excitement as the Ospreys won a corner with 10 seconds remaining. The delivered ball was met by Anna-Kaye Logan and sent goal bound but Rooney was standing in just the right place to catch the ball as the buzzer sounded.

Rooney made four saves in the contest with three of the four being crucial stops.

It was another hard-fought match by both sides with 31 fouls committed and physical play throughout the contest.

The Dolphins are back on the field this weekend for their last two crucial home games. JU will face Belmont on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then will take on Lipscomb to round out the season on Sunday at noon.