SAVANNAH, Ga. (Women’s Soccer) – In a matchup between two recent NCAA Semifinalist teams, the 2011 semifinalist Armstrong Atlantic Pirates controlled their home turf. The Pirates scored three first-half goals on their way to knockoff No. 19, and 2010 semifinalist, Florida Tech by a score of 5-0 on Friday at Armstrong Soccer Field.

Armstrong Atlantic (1-1-1) got on the board just 18 seconds into the game when Nadima Skeff avoided two Florida Tech (2-1) defenders and placed the ball high, right side to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

The home team’s lead extended to 3-0 before the end of the first half. FIT had only surrendered four goals in its first two games.

“When you play on the road against a good team like Armstrong Atlantic and you go down three goals early, it is tough to come back,” head coach Fidgi Haig said. “But our girls never gave up and they fought till the final seconds, and I am proud of them for that. It is lesson to learn from and we have still have a long season ahead of us.”

In the second half, Morgan Mitchell netted two goals to push Armstrong Atlantic’s lead to 5-0 for its first win of the season.

The Panthers, who averaged 20 shots per game through two matches, were held to just 10 shots, four on goal.

The Pirates, who entered the preseason national rankings at No. 3, fell out of the top-25 after starting the season 0-1-1.

The all-time series between the two programs is now evened up at 1-1. FIT defeated Armstrong Atlantic in 2009 by a score of 2-0 in Milledgeville, Ga.

FIT will get a day off before playing a second game at Armstrong Soccer Field on Sunday, Sept. 9 in a neutral site match against Clayton State. The Panthers and Lakers are slated to start at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available at http://bit.ly/OuciJU.

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