LAKELAND, Fla. – Freshman Jacob Ling-Vannerus scored in the 33^rd minute to give Florida Southern a 1-0 halftime lead and later scored the final goal of the night to cap a 5-0 win over Warner in the Moccasins' 2016 season opener. The Moccasins also received goals from three other newcomers and out-shot the Royals 21-3 in the match.

SNIEGOSKI SAYS

"I was very pleased with tonight's performance. We have many things we need to improve upon but as a whole, it was a good step forward. As a team we gained the clean sheet, which is always our goal. We will get back to the grind tomorrow and continue to take steps forward."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• All five Florida Southern goals were scored by players who joined the team last spring or over the summer. Ling-Vannerus scored his goals in the 33rd and 81st minute, junior transfer Dani Morillo scored in the 49th, sophomore Joseph Ammer scored in the 65th, and freshman Florian Thumm scored in the 75th.
• Ling-Vannerus scored his goals as a reserve after entering in the 30th minute, and needed less than four minutes to reach the back of the net in his college debut. The last Florida Southern freshman to score two goals in his debut was current senior Jonathan Radvogin, who netted two against Warner in 2013. Ling-Vannerus had a game-high five shots.
• Morillo's goal came just over three minutes into the second half after the Royals had cleared a corner kick. He had time to set himself before curling a shot from long range into the very upper right corner of the goal. Morillo scored four goals last year for the University of Dubuque in Iowa.
• In addition to his goal, Thumm also assisted two goals in his first game. The last Moccasin to be involved in three goals in his college debut was another current senior on the roster, Nico Guevara, who had three assists in the 2013 win over Warner.
• The Moccasins led 1-0 at halftime but had one other shot hit the post, and one hit the crossbar.
• Senior goalkeeper Cole Clingerman earned his ninth career shutout by making one save in each half. The Royals had only one shot in the first half, taken by Renaldo Brown in the 34th minute.
• Florida Southern's starters on the back line were sophomores Callum Carsley, Pablo Gallo Arias and Daniel Moore, and junior Carl Spansk. Sophomore Nick Atwood helped the Mocs close out the shutout with 15 minutes in relief of Carsley. In addition to his work on the defensive end of the field, Carsley also assisted the first goal of the night.
• The start of Sunday's game was also delayed by nearly an hour due to lightning in the area, and most of the game was played in the rain.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Florida Southern improved to 10-1 all-time against Warner. It's the second time in four seasons under head coach Ryan Sniegoski the Mocs have opened a season with a win over the Royals. They defeated them 3-1 in 2013, Sniegoski's first game with the Moccasins. The Mocs are also 3-1 in season openers under Sniegoski, and 4-0 in home openers.
• The five goals are the most the Mocs have scored in a season opener since beating Bryant (RI) 5-2 in 2002, and their 5-goal margin of victory was their largest in an opener since defeating Bryant 9-0 in 2001.
• Clingerman's ninth career shutout ties him with Brian Bain (1966-69) for third on the Mocs' all-time list. Just ahead of Clingerman is Clint Harris, who had 10½ from 2002-05. Cliff Dixon is the record holder with 17 from 1995-97.
• The three shots allowed were the fewest by Florida Southern since September 7, 2010 when the Mocs also allowed just three in a 3-1 win over Clearwater Christian.
• Four newcomers started Sunday night, and three of them (Thumm, Ammer and Morillo) scored goals. The fourth (Carsley) assisted a goal and helped the Mocs pick up the shutout from his outside back position. Two other new players (Ling-Vannerus and freshman James Byrnes) saw more than 30 minutes of game time off the bench.
• With the game having been postponed from Thursday night due to Hurricane Hermine, it marked only the second time in their 60-year history the Mocs opened a season on a Sunday. The first was in 2003 at Central Florida.

UP NEXT

• Florida Southern will be on the road next weekend for two games in the Carolinas. The first will be Friday at Mars Hill (NC) at 7 p.m. The second game of the trip is Sunday at Coker (SC) at 3:30 p.m.