LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College men's soccer team defeated Saint Leo University on Tuesday night by a final score of 3-0, earning their first conference victory of the season.
The Moccasins (4-4-7, 1-3-5 SSC) overpressured the visiting Lions (7-8-0, 2-7-0 SSC), outshooting their opponent 14-7, with all three shots on goal finding the back of the net.
AJ Pearce earned his second shutout of the season as he made just one save, but it was a spectacular stop on a penalty kick attempt at a critical juncture in the game.
Felix Tonne started the scoring for the Moccasins in the 41st minute on a smooth set play.
Mathias Kjølner capitalized on a Lions miscue, throwing the ball in quickly as the ball fell to
Braden Hill.
He crossed the pass to Tonne, who rifled a low shot through a pair of Saint Leo defenders that deflected into the back of the net.
The Mocs took the momentum, and the lead, into the second half. They held a heavy advantage in shots, corner kicks, and possession, and also recorded just one foul in the first 45 minutes of play.
Florida Southern came out of the locker room with the same momentum they had at the end of the first half, with
Henri Tophoven recording three high-quality shot attempts in the opening five minutes. He would go on to record six attempts, hitting the woodwork on three tries as the conference's leading goal-scorer had a rare scoreless evening.
The Moccasins' Hill would go on to make another game-changing play in the second half to put the Moccasins up by two in the 68th minute. This time it was Tonne who delivered a cross into the box off of a corner kick opportunity. The ball bounced around before falling to Hill, who fired a brilliant shot in the upper left corner to beat the keeper.
Florida Southern would control the pace of the game until the 83rd minute when the Lions were given a beacon of hope with a penalty kick opportunity awarded.
With the score still just 2-0, the Mocs' Pearce made a phenomenal save on the attempt, diving to his left and securing the rebound to maintain the shutout.
In the 90th minute, senior
Santiago Erazo put the exclamation point on the victory in the final home game of the season, as freshman
Lucas Galvis gave the veteran an opportunity in the box. Erazo flicked the ball to himself and then delivered a header into the back of the net to secure the shutout victory for the Moccasins.
The Moccasins now turn their attention to Friday night, when they'll compete against the Rollins College Tars in the final regular-season game of the year.
