Box Score LAKELAND – Hassirou Diakite connected on a header off a free kick from Callum Carsley in the 37th minute, and Cole Clingerman made six saves for his third shutout of the season as Florida Southern (6-4-1) held off Flagler (4-6-1) for a 1-0 win in men's soccer Tuesday night.
SNIEGOSKI SAYS
"Tonight may not have been the most attractive soccer we have played but was certainly a huge step forward. The boys battled together for 90 minutes to get a clean sheet and the win. I could not be prouder for how this team is growing together. Back to the grind tomorrow."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Flagler, which came into Tuesday night with a 4-game winning streak, had the first four shots of the game, but Clingerman stopped three of them in the first 12 minutes to keep the Saints off the board.
- Before scoring their goal, the Moccasins had two good shots from freshman forward Rene Rivera, who was making his first start of the season, and center back Daniel Moore on a free kick.
- Moments after Clingerman stopped a header on a corner kick, the Saints were whistled for a foul near the sideline in front of their bench. Carsley sent the ball to the far post where Diakite ran in to convert the header for his fourth goal of the season. It was Carsley's third assist.
- Jacob Ling-Vannerus had a strong shot from outside the box in the 43rd minute that was saved by Flagler goalkeeper Lex Craggs.
- The start of the second half saw Jonathan Radvogin get two shots off in the first minute, one of which was saved by Craggs before the rebound was sent wide. That sequence was set up by Ling-Vannerus as well.
- Flagler had a promising chance created by Graham Grassmyer and Pedro Silva in the 51st minute but Keiron Matthews pushed his shot from close range wide of the net.
- The most dangerous shot the Saints had in the second half came from Dominic Duffell in the 84th minute. The low line drive from outside the box deflected off another player but Clingerman went to the ground to make his final save of the night.
- Two plays that didn't show up on the stat sheet had Clingerman grabbing two dangerous crosses out of the right corner in the final four minutes, each with a Saints runner coming in behind him.
- Flagler out-shot Florida Southern 13-11 in the match, but Florida Southern had an 11-9 advantage after the first few minutes.
- The corner kicks were nearly even too, with Flagler taking six and Florida Southern five.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The shutout was Florida Southern's third of the season, with all three coming at home. It was the second 1-0 win, with the first coming against Nova Southeastern.
- Florida Southern's last win over Flagler was a 1-0 decision in 1994, though the teams had played only four times since then prior to this year. The Mocs are now 6-13-1 against the Saints all-time.
- Manning the back positions in the shutout were Carsley and Nick Atwood outside, and Moore and Luke Bromley inside. Carl Spansk was also a big part of the defensive effort, playing all 90 minutes in the midfield.
- Prior to Tuesday night, Florida Southern's last 13 goals had been scored in the second half.
- The Moccasins are 5-0 when Diakite has scored a goal in his two years at Florida Southern.
- Though Radvogin did not start the game, he came off the bench midway through the first half, played 52 minutes and led the Mocs with four shots, forcing two of Craggs' four saves.
- Florida Southern has surpassed its win total from last year in three fewer games so far.
- Clingerman made his 52nd career start, leaving him one short of the school's career record for a goalkeeper set by Clint Harris from 2002-05. He's now played 4,772 minutes between the posts, 27 shy of the record set by Tim Moore from 1985-88.
- Clingerman now has 225 career saves, which is three behind fourth-place Cliff Dixon (1995-97) and 12 behind third-place Shawn Corgan (1992-93).
- With 11 career shutouts, Clingerman moved into sole possession of second place on that list, trailing only Dixon, who had 17 from 1995-97.
UP NEXT
- Florida Southern returns to Sunshine State Conference play Saturday night at Saint Leo with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
