The multi-goal losses are starting to pile up for the Tampa Bay Sun. Brooklyn FC shut out Tampa Bay 3-0 Saturday night, marking the Sun’s second three-goal loss in two weeks.
The multi-goal losses are starting to pile up for the Tampa Bay Sun.
Brooklyn FC shut out Tampa Bay 3-0 Saturday night, marking the Sun’s second three-goal loss in two weeks.
After a scoreless first half, Brooklyn came out firing with a Catherine Zimmerman goal off an assist by Rebecca Cooke to make it 1-0 in the 47th minute, followed by a Hope Breslin score in the 59th to put Brooklyn (4-6-5) up 2-0.
Zimmerman got her second goal of the game in the 71st minute for the final margin.
Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown didn’t mince words after the loss. “This is the bottom,” she said. “There’s a bad f---ing feeling.”
She pointed out mental errors as a big factor in the loss.
“We literally gave them opportunities,” Schilte-Brown said. “We have to find consistency and be a little sharper in those moments. ... Goals are momentum changers. The final third can shift a game, but we also can’t make the errors we’ve been making.”
Sun players tried a different spin.
Captain Jordyn Listro emphasized the importance of staying positive and sticking together.
“We haven’t had the best results, but we’ve had glimpses of good performance,” said Listro of her one-win team that is last in the Super League standings. “We have to stick together, not turn on each other, stay positive and have each other’s backs for the full 90 minutes.”
The teams were remarkably even in most statistical categories, with Brooklyn holding a slight edge on shots (13-11) but a larger margin on shooting accuracy (53.8% to the Sun’s 18.2%).
Listro alluded to her team’s offensive challenges, noting how some of the early opportunities can shift the momentum of the entire night and how maintaining control in the midfield is key.
“We’re very technical players. We have to want to get on the ball and bring our game to the other team instead of letting them dictate the tempo,” Listro said. “If we can get on the ball early, move like we usually do, and be creative in the final third, we’ll be successful.”
Defender Brooke Hendrix acknowledged the team’s struggles over the last two matches (the team fell to Jacksonville by the same score a week earlier) but expressed optimism in the team’s more positive moments.
“We’re seeing moments of greatness and togetherness, and then other moments where we’re disconnected,” she said. ”We need to make those good moments more consistent across a full game.”
But accountability wasn’t left on the pitch.
“Defensively, it’s on all of us,” Hendrix said. “Not just the back line or one person. As a team, we have to defend together and keep the ball out of the net. ...
“We need to create our own energy. Celebrate a big block, a great pass, a shot. When you celebrate those moments, they become normal, and you want to do it again.”
Looking ahead, Schilte-Brown emphasized the importance of unity and eliminating those little errors.
“It’s about rising together, feeling like we don’t want to feel this way anymore and putting our chances away,” she said.
Category: General Sports
