Box Score AUBURNDALE, FL – Christoph Gums scored two goals in the first nine minutes Saturday night before Dani Morillo and James Smith added single goals of their own, as Florida Southern defeated Saint Leo 4-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Florida Southern (3-1, 1-1 Sunshine State Conference) took control early by taking advantage of a free kick deep in Saint Leo (1-5, 1-2) territory just over a minute into the match. Romain Voirin took the kick, firing it on goal where it was initially saved but not contained by Wessel Berenschot. Gums swept in from the opposite side and scored on the rebound to give the Mocs a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal of his college career.
- A little over seven minutes later Gums struck for the second time. Edward Spansk assisted this one through the run of play, which gave Florida Southern goals on two of its first three shots.
- Gums played a role in the third goal too, which came in the 37th minute. That one came from Morillo, with Gums providing the assist. The score remained 3-0 going into halftime, with the Mocs out-shooting the Lions 10-4 in the first half.
- A little over three minutes into the second half, Smith took a pass from Rene Rivera and turned it into Florida Southern's fourth goal of the night, and the first of his career as well.
- Though Florida Southern did not score again, the Mocs continued to apply pressure and eventually ended up with a 17-8 advantage in shots taken. Freshman goalkeeper Benny Yusufoglu made two saves to record his first shutout of the season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Though Gums scored for the first time as a Moccasin, he had already assisted three goals in the first three games. He's now scored or assisted six of Florida Southern's 11 goals this season.
- Smith was another Moccasin who had already assisted multiple goals prior to Saturday before he found the back of the net for the first time himself.
- Florida Southern's 17 shots came from 11 different players, including Martin Wall and Taylor Vincent, who forced Berenschot into two of his four saves. Morillo also accounted for a save, as did Voirin with his second-minute free kick.
- By contrast, half of Saint Leo's eight shots came from Hermon Constant, who took all four in the first 30 minutes.
- The Moccasins allowed less than 10 shots for the third time this year with a starting back four of Daniel Moore, Carl Spansk, Jake Starling and Foster Appiah, though Andrew Grimmer ended up playing 64 minutes as a reserve. Spansk was the only field player who went all 90.
- The win ended a 6-game losing streak to Saint Leo which had dated back to another 4-0 win by the Moccasins in 2011. The Mocs still lead the all-time series 29-26-5.
UP NEXT
Florida Southern will be at home again on Monday night at 7 p.m. when it hosts Florida National University at the Lake Myrtle Sports Park.
