Box Score WINTER PARK – With Rollins scoring the only goal of the night in the 81st minute, the 20th-ranked Tars were able to pull out a 1-0 decision over the Moccasins in Florida Southern's first game back following a long layoff caused by Hurricane Irma.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game was scoreless until just inside of 10 minutes remaining. That's when Fritz Engel struck for the Tars (3-0-1, 1-0 Sunshine State Conference) after being set up by Johnny Nartowicz and Liam Luke.
- The Moccasins (2-1, 0-1) had an opportunity to tie the score in the final minute when a hand ball gave them a free kick near the attacking third. Romain Voirin sent that kick into the box where it was initially headed out, but the Mocs got it back inside where center back Daniel Moore sent a well-placed header toward goal. It was saved by Rollins goalkeeper Julian Grundler, however, who secured the ball going to the ground with 10 seconds remaining to preserve the 1-0 win for Rollins.
- The Tars out-shot the Moccasins 14-12 in a fairly even match. That was even more evident after the first 20 minutes when the Tars had a 4-1 advantage in the early going.
- James Smith forced Grundler into two saves midway through the first half. Tobias Rodriguez Brindicci had another opportunity for the Mocs in the 29th minute, and after that the two sides combined for only two shots the remainder of the period.
- The early stages of the second half went much the same way before a flurry of activity from the 67th through 71st minutes produced three shots for Rollins and one for Florida Southern. Goalkeeper Benny Yusufoglu saved two of those shots for Florida Southern, and Grundler returned the favor a little while later with back-to-back saves in the 74th minute against Brindicci and Christoph Gums.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Yusufoglu and Grundler each made six saves for their respective teams, with exactly 13 of the 26 shots in the game on target.
- Though Rollins still leads the all-time series 51-13-9, they've been nearly even since 2010, with the Tars only up 5-4.
- Wednesday night's game marked a sharp departure from the last eight meetings between the two teams. They had averaged a combined 5.6 goals per match during that stretch, with seven or more scored in three of them, including last year's 4-3 win by Florida Southern. They hadn't combined for less than three goals since a 2-0 win by Rollins in the 2004 SSC Tournament, and hadn't played a 1-0 game since the Mocs won by that score in 2001.
- Rollins is the first ranked team the Mocs have faced this year after playing two last year. The Mocs lost each of those by one goal as well, falling to Tampa 2-1, and Lynn 1-0. They have two more games remaining against teams currently ranked in the top-25, with No. 4 Lynn and No. 9 Palm Beach Atlantic coming in as their final two home games.
UP NEXT
Florida Southern will be back at home to take on Saint Leo Saturday night at the Auburndale Sports Park. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
