Box Score LAKELAND – Down 2-0 at halftime, Florida Southern came all the way back in the second half with four unanswered goals, all of which involved sophomore Joseph Ammer, and Cole Clingerman saved a penalty kick in the closing minutes to help the Moccasins defeat Rollins 4-3 at Barnett Field Wednesday night. It was the first time in team history the Moccasins ever came back from two goals down in the second half to win a Sunshine State Conference game.
SNIEGOSKI SAYS
"Two Mocs soccer teams showed up tonight," said head coach Ryan Sniegoski. "The team in the first half did not represent what FSC soccer stands for. I'll take the team I saw in the second half tonight against anyone in the country. It's back to the grind tomorrow to continue to get better."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Rollins (5-3-1, 1-2-1 Sunshine State Conference) took its 2-0 lead on a goal by Matt Volk in the 14th minute and another by Alexis Martinez in the 43rd. The goal by Martinez came on a penalty kick for a hand ball in the box as James Winchester was attempting to cross the ball into the center.
- Florida Southern (4-3-1, 2-2-1) needed just 31 seconds of the second half to pull within one as senior midfielder Hassirou Diakite struck a loose ball played from Ammer near the top of the box that deflected off a Rollins defender and went past goalkeeper Drew Trautman for his second goal of the season.
- Less than four minutes later freshman Florian Thumm tied the score for Florida Southern with his third goal of 2016, taking a cross from Ammer and beating Trautman inside the left post.
- The score was tied 2-2 for the next 10 minutes when senior Jonathan Radvogin notched his second goal of the season to put the Mocs ahead. That play started with a downfield pass from Jacob Ling-Vannerus and went through Ammer as well.
- Ammer put his name in the scoring column in the 68th minute on a counter-attack break-away started by Edward Spansk in the back. The Moccasins had just repelled a Rollins corner kick prior to the goal. That play gave Ammer one goal and three assists in the game.
- Clingerman made two big saves for the Moccasins after that, diving high and to his right to stop a free kick by Tosan Popo in the 72nd minute, and stopping a penalty kick by Popo in the 87th minute.
- The Tars still managed to score again in the 88th minute when Martinez assisted his second goal of the night, setting up Stefan Avram to make the score 4-3 with 2:46 remaining.
- Popo had another shot for Rollins inside of two minutes to play but Clingerman saved that one as well to finish with five saves in the game.
- The Moccasins also got two blocked shots from Edward Spansk in less than a minute's time following Clingerman's save on the Popo free kick in the 72nd minute.
- Center backs Luke Bromley and Daniel Moore were in position to stop a Rollins shot early in the first half when Clingerman had pushed a dangerous cross away.
- After combining with Tampa for only 15 shots in their last game, Florida Southern and Rollins combined for 36 Wednesday night. Rollins took 19, and Florida Southern had 17. The Moccasins also had 12 in the second half after being limited to five in the first half.
- Clingerman had five saves for Florida Southern and Trautman had six for Rollins.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The last time Florida Southern rallied from a 2-goal deficit to win a game was September 24, 2004 against Nyack (NY). The Moccasins trailed 2-0 in that game but started their comeback in the first half and eventually won 3-2 in overtime. They hadn't done that in the second half since September 14, 2003 against Southern Indiana when they trailed 2-0 going into the final 20 minutes and also posted a 3-2 overtime win.
- Ammer has assumed sole possession of the team scoring lead with four goals and 12 points, with Thumm picking up three goals and three assists on the season.
- The last Moccasin with three assists in a game prior to Ammer was current senior Nico Guevara in his college debut against Warner on September 7, 2013. Patrik Dandanell was the last Moccasin to do that in a conference game, assisting all three goals in a 3-3 with Nova Southeastern in 2006.
- Florida Southern has beaten Rollins in consecutive seasons for only the second time since 1965. The Moccasins won last year in Winter Park 5-0, and the nine goals in back-to-back meetings with the Tars are the most in the 73-game series history. Prior to last year the Mocs had scored more than three goals against the Tars only once (a 4-1 win in 2011).
- Though Rollins still lead the all-time series 51-12-9, the teams have split the last eight meetings with a total of 45 goals scored in those games.
- The last time Florida Southern and Rollins played a game against each other where both teams scored at least three times was 1993, a 5-3 win by Rollins. They also had a pair of 3-3 draws in 1959 and 1962.
- The penalty kick save was the second of Clingerman's career. He previously stopped one against Alabama-Huntsville in 2014.
- The last time a Florida Southern goalkeeper saved a PK in a game the Mocs eventually won by one goal was September 6, 2002, when Oscar Gullbrandsson did it in a 1-0 win over Montevallo.
UP NEXT
- Florida Southern's scheduled game at Lynn University on Saturday has been postponed. The Moccasins will resume play next Wednesday with a 7 p.m. match at Embry-Riddle University.
HIGHLIGHTS: Men's Soccer vs. Rollins (Oct. 5, 2016)
