Roar: Sporting Jax women win home soccer, roll out reptilian mascot
Sporting Jax women's soccer entered halftime behind but turned around fast, as coach Stacey Balaam praised the team's best play "in a long time."
In a thrilling home opener on August 22, Sporting Club Jacksonville women's soccer secured a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay Sun FC, moving up to second place in the Gainbridge Super League. The turning point came in the second half when Ashlyn Puerta, the league's player of the year in Sporting Jax's inaugural season, scored a game-tying goal just 45 seconds after coming on as a substitute for Maci Teater. Two minutes later, Baylee DeSmit added another goal, propelling Jacksonville ahead.
Meg Hughes set up DeSmit's second goal in the 60th minute, while Coco Thistle provided a headed assist for DeSmit's decisive strike. DeSmit extended the lead ten minutes later with a crisp finish after Thistle's assist. Despite Tampa Bay's quick free kicks, scoring twice in the first half, Jacksonville's goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg made six crucial saves to keep the team in the lead.
Thistle made her debut for the club in the 60th minute, replacing Melina Descary. First-team all-league forward Paige Kenton was unable to play due to illness. Coach Stacey Balaam praised the team's performance, calling the 30 minutes after halftime "a really big 30 minutes for us, probably the best I've seen us in a long time, to be honest, and very clinical in front of goal as well."
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