Tampa, FL (Sep. 15, 2024) Tampa Bay Sun FC was unable to keep its unbeaten streak going this past weekend, as a 0-1 defeat to Brooklyn FC Saturday night at Riverfront Stadium gave the team its first loss of the season.
Tampa Bay controlled possession for nearly 60% of the game and managed to put a number of dangerous shots on goal throughout the game. It was a 23rd minute counterstrike by Brooklyn’s Isabel Cox, however, that proved to be the difference despite Tampa Bay’s overall strong performance.
“We did a good job defensively, we negated 90% of their chances,” Head Coach Denise Schilte-Brown said following the narrow loss. “At the end of the day, we were the aggressive team, we were the one in possession, we were setting the tone; they were chasing us. That happens in soccer. You give up one goal and the anxiety gets you a little bit.”
The Sun will get a break this upcoming weekend before heading back on the road to take on the current table leader, Carolina Ascent FC, on September 27th.
“We’re going to watch film, and we do have that time to get our bodies back,” Tampa Bay Sun FC forward Sydny Nasello said on the current state of her team. “We did have the opportunities [against Brooklyn], we had the chances. I’m just bummed we weren’t more clinical, and that’s just something we have to be better at going forward, and we all know it.”
Despite Saturday’s match resulting in the team’s first loss, Nasello noted the growth in chemistry from game one to where the team currently stands.
“The first game obviously, you’re making history, there’s a lot of emotions,” Nasello reflected. “We have an identity now, we know what kind of football we want to play, and that just takes everyone every single day in training and bringing it to the games.