LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday night, holding their ground after being forced to play man-down for the majority of the second half.
The Moccasins (2-3-5, 0-2-3) settled for their third consecutive tie while the Sailfish (6-2-1,2-2-1 SSC) took their first draw of the season in a fierce affair.
Henri Tophoven had the lone goal, his eleventh of the season after
Kyle Carr drew a foul in the box with 21 minutes to play in the first half.
The graduate student fired a rocket right down the middle, converting on the first penalty kick attempt of the year for the Moccasins.
After Tophoven's penalty kick goal, the Sailfish responded with the equalizer ten minutes later. The opposition earned a free-kick opportunity a few feet outside the box, and Yannick Toth converted with an excellent shot that eluded the wall of Mocs and found the corner.
The score would remain knotted at 1 for the remainder of the game, despite a series of opportunities for both teams that stemmed from free kicks and corner kicks.
The squads combined for five yellow cards, with both teams eventually losing players due to excessive violations.
AJ Pearce earned the draw in net for the Moccasins, as he faced 14 shot attempts, seven of which were on goal. The junior goalkeeper made six saves as he stopped every shot he faced in the second half, despite being man-down for nearly 35 minutes.
Palm Beach Atlantic held a massive advantage in possession for the majority of the second half, but Florida Southern's back line was able to weather the storm and prevent any quality scoring chances.
The Mocs, who are still looking for their first conference win of the season, will return to play this Wednesday as they travel to St. Petersburg, Fla. To take on Eckerd College at 7 p.m.
