Brooklyn spoils the party on night Sun unveil championship banner
Sun goalkeeper Emory Wegener makes a save during the first half of Wednesday's match against Brooklyn at Suncoast Credit Union Field. ©Luis Santana Earlier this week, Sun players received their rings from last season’s title run, which ended with a dramatic extra-time victory over Fort Lauderdale in June. The celebration continued Wednesday night at Suncoast Credit Union Field, as the Sun officially became the first professional women’s sports team in Tampa to raise a championship banner, a milestone in a city already rich with titles.
“The banner is something that belongs there,” said head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. “Tampa Bay is a winning city. ” Added defender Brooke Hendrix, “It’s not every day that you win a championship, especially in the first year.
” There was no better evidence than the match that followed, as Brooklyn quickly spoiled the party with a 3-0 win that dropped the Sun to 2-8-9 in their second season in the first-division Super League. Brooklyn wasted no time jumping ahead, scoring on Rebecca Cooke’s header just six minutes into the match. The goal set the tone for what followed, Schilte-Brown said.
“We allowed them to control the tempo of the game for the first 10 minutes,” she said. “This matchup for us has been a disaster every time we played Brooklyn. ” The problems only continued for the Sun, who fell further behind when Catherine Zimmerman scored in the 47th minute to send Brooklyn into the half up 2-0.
Any hopes of a comeback faded in the 56th minute, when Hope Breslin scored to give Brooklyn a three-goal lead. The Sun, who entered the match searching for consistency, continue to do so. “It was just mental errors, which we haven’t seen from the ladies too often,” Schilte-Brown said.