Box Score
LAKELAND â€" With seven different players scoring goals, 2nd-ranked Rollins remained undefeated with a 7-1 win over Florida Southern Wednesday night.
The Tars (12-0, 4-0 Sunshine State Conference) have now won 20 consecutive regular season games, and Wednesday’s match marked the third time this year they’ve scored at least five goals. The game was tied 1-1 until Rollins scored the go-ahead goal in the 28th minute and added two more goals 15 seconds apart in the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 4-1 lead into the locker room.
Rollins scored three of its goals on free kicks, including the first goal of the match 11:38 into the contest. Skyler Russell, who began play tied for the SSC lead in assists, picked up another one when his free kick in the 12th minute to the back post was first headed toward the goal by Tucker Hume and then knocked in by Evan Greenbaum.
Florida Southern (4-6, 2-2) answered in the 23rd minute when sophomore midfielder Alexi Cortez (Largo, Fla.) scored his first goal of the season by ripping a shot from 20 yards out under the crossbar. It was set up by Luke Jenner (Preston, England), who got the ball forward to Carlos Rodriguez (Tampa, Fla.), before it was dropped back to Cortez.
Rollins took the lead for good in the 28th minute when Philipp Schad pushed the ball forward for Tosan Popo, whose shot from inside the box was past Cole Clingerman for his fourth goal of the season. The Tars just missed two more goals in the 29th minute when Grant Blackhurst hit the post and Walker Hume sent a header just wide on a corner kick.
Rollins did end up scoring two goals later in the half when Brett Durrance connected on a free kick that deflected off the defensive wall in front of Clingerman in the 39th minute, and 15 seconds later Schad was on target when Blackhurst quickly got him the ball inside the box for another shot.
The Moccasins put together a strong threat in the final minute of the half when they forced Rollins goalkeeper Keneil Baker into both of his saves. Adam Hansjons (Upplands Vasby, Sweden) hit a low line drive from long distance that took Baker to the ground where he tipped it past the left post. On the ensuing corner kick, Simmule Turner (Southlake, Texas) had another shot stopped by Baker to keep it a 4-1 game at halftime.
The Tars added to their lead in the second half with three more goals from Marten Mueller (55th minute), Grant Blackhurst (82nd minute), and Alex Bisbee (90th minute). Mueller’s goal came on a similar play to the one where Schad scored in the first half, and Blackhurst’s was an impressive blast from 25 yards as he dropped the ball from his chest to his feet and fired a shot into the upper right corner. Bisbee ended the scoring by re-directing a free kick taken by Schad.
Clingerman ended up making six saves for the Moccasins, and James Gibson (Cape Coral, Fla.) also stopped a shot taken by Tucker Hume less than three minutes into the game.
Baker made two saves for the Tars in 58 minutes, and backup Anthony White stopped a penalty kick taken by Jenner in the 60th minute shortly after entering the game.
Florida Southern will play another top-10 team on Saturday when it goes on the road to face 10th-ranked Saint Leo at 5 p.m.
