Mocs Fall to Rollins 10-7

WINTER PARK â€" With bad field conditions and rain falling for most of the second half, Rollins used a strong fourth quarter, out-scoring the Moccasins 4-2, to take a 10-7 Deep South Conference victory over the Mocs here on Cahall-Sandspur Field at Barker Family Stadium on the campus of Rollins College.

With the loss the Mocs fall to 3-5 on the season and 1-2 in DSC action while Rollins now holds a 3-7 overall record and a 2-2 conference mark with tonight’s win.

The Tars would strike first scoring three goals in the first seven minutes to open the game 3-0 before Stephen Boyle found the net for the Mocs at the 1:32 mark in the first quarter.

FSC would quickly find the net in the second quarter scoring their second straight goal a little over one minute into the quarter. The Mocs’ defense gave their own offense lots of time to work holding the Tars to zero goals and only one shot during the second quarter. Whereas the offense had possession the majority of the quarter and fired off a total of 16 shots only one was able to find the net during quarter number two. A Rollins’ player would commit a cross-checking penalty with 55 seconds remaining before half but FSC couldn’t take advantage of the man-up opportunity as Rollins held their slim, 3-2, lead going into halftime.

It didn’t take the Mocs long to even the score out of halftime, as Dane Sorensen took a pass from Brian Weil and found the net to tie the score at 3-3 with 13:48 on the third quarter clock. 

The third was the complete opposite of the second quarter as both team’s offenses seemed to open up and find the net quite often. Both teams combined to score six goals in the third quarter. 

The Tars would end the 3-0 run, that had started in the second quarter, by the Mocs with a goal of their own to retake their earlier lead. Rollins didn’t hold it long as FSC scored two goals within the next two minutes to grab a 5-4 lead of their own with 8:38 remaining in the quarter.

Both teams cooled off for a few minutes but Rollins would find the net two more times to close out the third quarter and head into the final period up 6-5.

FSC would keep the score close but it was Rollins from there on out as the  Tarsopened the fourth quarter getting a shot in between the pipes within the first 30 seconds to stretch their lead to 7-5. It looked like the Mocs would start their comeback as Chris Murphy rifled one in to get FSC back within one but the Tars, would push their lead back to two off the ensuing faceoff taking only 10 seconds off the play clock while building an 8-6 lead. Both teams would once again trade goals, with the Mocs closing within one once again but Rollins would answer FSC’s run with another goal to remain ahead 9-7 with 4:54 left on the game clock.

Rollins would add an insurance goal at the 2:35 mark and hold on the remainder of the game to earn their first ever victory over Florida Southern. FSC still holds a commanding 5-1 record between the two programs.

Earning the loss for the Mocs was freshman Sam Hartley who fell to 1-3 on the season. Hartley faced 27 shots and tallied three saves. For the Tars Andrew Sheerin picked up the win as he stopped 13 Moccasin shots on the evening.

Offensively the Mocs took 13 more shots than the Tars but only found the net seven times. Sorensen and Murphy both tallied two goals for the Mocs. Shane Tompkins led the Mocs with three points on two assists and a goal while Rollins was led by Riley Robinson with four goals on the evening.

FSC will be hitting the field again this weekend, Sun. March 24 as they take on Lenoir-Rhyne in DSC match-up at 1:00 p.m back in Lakeland.