Second-Half Goals Give #18 Lynn 3-1 Win Over FSC

LAKELAND â€" A late first-half goal by Zach Hofstetter gave Florida Southern the lead Saturday, but 18th-ranked Lynn came from behind with three goals in the second half to deny the Moccasins their fourth win over a ranked opponent in the last year-and-a-half. The Knights scored on a penalty kick to tie the game, an own goal to take the lead, and got an insurance goal after a weather delay to come away with a 3-1 victory over the Mocs.

Hofstetter’s goal in the 41st minute broke a scoreless tie and was only the third allowed by the Knights (6-1, 2-0 Sunshine State Conference) this year. It also gave the Moccasins (4-3, 1-1) momentum heading into halftime when the two teams appeared to be evenly matched. The goal came after the Mocs won the ball in the midfield, with David Fletcher pushing it forward to Viktor Bakkioui, whose cross-field pass set up Hofstetter for a shot from the left side of the box. The shot deflected off a Lynn defender and into the net for his eighth goal of the season. It also made the fifth-year senior only the second player in team history with 20 goals and 20 assists in his career. Asa Pepia did the same from 2002-05.

“We played a great first half,” said FSC coach Hugh Seyfarth. “Defensively, we dealt with the diagonal balls very well, kept our shape perfectly, and did all of the things we knew we had to do. I thought we won the last 20 minutes of the half, and when Zach scored a hard-working goal like that to put us up 1-0, we had the momentum.”

Lynn took that momentum back though in the 56th minute when Harald Gracholski was taken down in the box for a penalty kick, and Heiko Eberhardt converted to tie the game.

“We knew Lynn would come out with a lot of fire in the second half and play very direct. That’s exactly what happened, and the first time we let them get behind us, it resulted in a penalty kick. That was the type of mistake we didn’t make in the first half.”

Both Eberhardt and Gracholski nearly scored in the 66th minute but were stopped at point-blank range by Moccasin center back Ashley Holmes on back-to-back shots. Eberhardt had the first one from deep inside the box, and though it was past goalkeeper Charlie Craig and on target, Holmes stopped it on the goal line. The rebound came out to Gracholski who fired another shot on goal, but Holmes saved that one too by sliding to his left with Craig still out of the play. It allowed the Mocs to catch their breath, but not for long.

Three minutes after Holmes prevented the Knights from taking the lead, they ended up taking it anyway when Martin Wehlert’s cross out of the right corner was headed into the net by a Moccasin defender. The own goal proved to be decisive though the Knights weren’t finished scoring.

After a 45-minute delay for lightning, Lynn got an insurance goal from Lanre Giwa in the 79th minute, who headed in another cross from Wehlert for his first career goal.

Craig made two saves in the closing minutes to keep Lynn from scoring more, but the Mocs had just one shot of their own during that time, with Fletcher putting one high from outside the box.

“It was a tight game for most of the day between two good SSC teams, but we made too many mistakes in the second half, and as I’ve said, when you do that against a good team, you pay for it.”

The Moccasins ended up with seven shots overall against a defense that was surrendering just 4.2 per game prior to Saturday. Many scoring chances ended up dying at the feet or on the head of center back A.B. Magnusson, who helped the Knights control the air in and around the box throughout the game. Lynn goalkeeper Matt DiCerbo had to make just one save, and gave up a goal for the first time in four games.

The Knights took 15 shots, with Craig making three saves for Florida Southern.

Florida Southern will be at home for its next match when it hosts Florida Tech on Wednesday night at 7:30.