LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's soccer team returns as a qualifier in the Sunshine State Conference tournament as the Mocs travel to Winter Park as a sixth seed to face third-seed Rollins College on Monday.
SSC Quarterfinal
Opponent: Rollins
Location: Winter Park, Fla. Cahall-Sandspur Field
Date: Monday, Nov. 6, 2023 | 4:30 p.m.
Live Stats:
http://www.fscmocs.com/stats
Video:
www.fscmocs.com/live
Tournament Page: https://sunshinestateconference.com/tournaments/?id=225
Florida Southern solidified the sixth-seed finish after a 3-3-4 SSC record for the first appearance in the conference postseason tournament since 2021. The Mocs finished the regular season with a 5-5-6 record, including a 3-2-4 record at home. FSC concluded its regular season play Friday night with a draw against United Soccer Coaches Poll No. 7 ranked Florida Tech; continuing into the postseason.
"To get back into the SSC tournament was our goal at the start of the season," said head coach
Ashley Holmes '12. "I am proud of the lads for their hard work and perseverance so far. The squad has shown tremendous heart and character all season. We look forward to our rematch with Rollins. I felt in our 3-0 victory earlier in the year we executed perfectly on both sides of the ball. We know we will have to be clinical in both aspects again to get a result at a tough place to play. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Rollins and the way they try to play. We know we will be in for a tough match, but we are excited for the challenge and the opportunity to play knock-out soccer once again."
6th Seed – The Moccasins - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Florida Southern had a tough schedule facing three teams ranked in the top 10 of the coaches' poll not allowing a single goal against ranked opponents. Mocs have 22 goals through 16 games, averaging 1.38 goals a game. FSC had 69 corner kicks, 18 assists, and 45 total saves in the season.
With several familiar faces on the team, senior
Kyle Carr with three goals and nine total points with three assists led FSC in goals. Juniors
Mathias Kjolner and
Jay Skelcher-Maxwell both have contributed to the Mocs' success with two goals and three assists for seven points apiece. Three other Mocs had two goals and two assists, junior midfielder
Victor Beker, sophomore defender
Ruben Linden, and freshman midfielder
Matthew Male. Junior
Felix Aakerberg and sophomore
Dylan Lowther also have contributed two goals followed by junior
Luca Bernoth, junior
Felix Tonne, junior
Jin Inoue, junior
Nyles Lockridge, and freshman
Joe Maxwell with a goal apiece.
On the defense side of the field, the Mocs have remained stalwart with Linden,
Pablo Overfeld,
Kristoffer Risnes, and Lockridge as a backline. FSC has only allowed 20 goals, 156 shots, and 65 on-goal shots this season. In goal, sophomore
Lasse Dettmer stepped in and earned combined back-to-back shutouts against Delta State and Alabama Huntsville to open the season. Veteran
AJ Pearce shined in his final year of eligibility starting in 10 games. Pearce had a high of seven saves in a big upset against the ranked Tars facing 22 shots to sit third in the conference. He has six career shutouts ahead of the SSC tournament game in his 27 appearances.
3rd Seed – The Tars - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Rollins leads the SSC with 39 goals in the 2023 season with 23 assists and 237 shots. The Tars are led by Jorge Lameiras with 10 goals (second-best in the SSC) and 23 total points. With two game-winners, Lameiras has excelled for Rollins this year also leading the conference in shots (49) and shots on goal (23). Tars' Nazar Tsaruk with nine goals and ranks second in the conference with 41 shots. Other top scorers include Patrick Horan (six), Jari Polm (three), Hayden Judge (three), Pedro Lameiras (one goal), and Rory Doyle (two).
Guarding the net for Rollins as of late is Max Walker who has faced eight opponents. Walker is fifth in the SSC- with eight saves in eight games played and nine goals with three goals being against the Mocs. He has a save percentage of .640 in 729 minutes. The Tars' opponents have scored 20 goals, compared to Rollin's 39, and average less than 10 shots a game.
The Matchup – FSC vs Rollins
The regular season between the two teams was hosted by the Mocs where FSC upset the then-ranked No. 10 Tars in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. In the match, FSC had nine shots and five on goal. Rollins had a high of 22 shots, eight being on goal that was all saved by Mocs keeper Pearce. In the win, Pearce earned the shutout while Kjolner and Carr scored their second goals of the season and Bernoth scored his first. Florida Southern has a 15-53-11 record against Rollins, with the last win on Oct. 7. On the road, FSC has a 3-30-6 record, the last win in 2015 in shutout fashion 5-0. The quarterfinal matchup will be the fourth postseason meeting between the teams. With the last one being in 2004. Prior to that the Mocs had a historic night when they defeated the Tars in penalty kicks at the #6 seed and Tars were the #3 seed just as they are going into this meeting.
FSC in the SSC Tournament
The Mocs return to the Sunshine State Conference postseason after last year's difficult tenure. This year will mark the 12
th appearance in the conference tournament with a 5-5-6 record and three semifinal appearances. In the 2021 season, the last tournament appearance FSC lost 3-0 at Nova Southeastern. The last SSC tournament win was in 2006 when the #3 seed Mocs defeated #6 seed Nova Southeastern 2-1. This will be the fourth postseason matchup against Nova Southeastern.
Other Games Around the League
#5-seed Nova Southeastern at #4-seed Lynn – Nov. 6, 2023 - 6:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals will take place Monday, November 6th, Semifinals will be Thursday, November 9th, and the Championship Final will be played Sunday, November 12th. The winner of the men's tournament will receive automatic qualification to the 2023 NCAA Division II Soccer Championships. The opening round of the NCAA Division II Championship is scheduled for Thursday, November 16th through Sunday, November 19th, at non-predetermined sites. The third round and quarterfinals will be Thursday, November 30th to Sunday, December 3rd. The semifinals and final will be played Thursday, December 7th - Saturday, December 9th, at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Monday, November 13th,
here.
