LAKELAND, Fla. — The Florida Southern Men's Soccer team (10-1-3, 5-0-3) drew even with Tampa (4-5-4, 3-3-2) to a 1-1 tie Wednesday at Berend Field for Senior Night (Oct. 21). Florida Southern finished with a 16-10 shot advantage and generated 12 corner kicks, including 11 shots and eight corners in the second half.
The Moccasins created an early stretch of pressure but went to halftime trailing 1-0 after Tampa scored in the 29th minute on a counterattack goal from Robin Vandoorne. Earlier, FSC had four shots and two corner kicks in a two-minute span early, with Alex Hare saving
Hector Oliver attempts to the top right and bottom center.
Max Muth added another attempt at 19:40, but Robin Vandoorne scored the Spartans' goal at 29:06 off Manuel Carmona's cross-field assist to put the visitors ahead 1-0.
Ricardo Marques made a save on Vandoorne in the 40th minute, and Florida Southern earned back-to-back corners just before the end of the half, but could not convert on either.
The second half started with lots of pressure, peaking with a penalty kick for the Spartans after a yellow card in the box. Thankfully, Marques dove left to save the shot and keep the deficit at just one. Earlier, while facing a 1-0 deficit, Florida Southern created three shots in a minute's span, with Moffat just missing by hitting the right woodwork, Oliver sending a shot high and
Tim Baierlein forcing a save from Alex Hare before a corner kick. In the 67th minute, the Mocs' pressure was too much for the Spartans as a cross-in from
Luciano Schiaffini found the head of
Darcy Moffat, who just placed a ball into the side netting to tie the match. The Moccasins continued to create late pressure with Schiaffini's saved shot at 80:05, two corners in quick succession in the 87th minute and two more in the final minute, but would not be enough as the match ended in a draw.
Moffat scored the match-tying goal and led Florida Southern with four shots.
Luciano Schiaffini recorded the assist and put his lone shot on goal. Marques played all 90 minutes in goal and made two crucial saves. Oliver added three shots, including a team-high two on goal.
The Mocs were heavily favored in the final tally as they outshot the Spartans 16-10 and a 6-3 margin of those on target. FSC took a whopping twelve corner kicks to Tampa's three, while Tampa committed twice as many fouls, 10-5.
Currently, FSC sits in second place of the SSC table with their 18 points, two behind Florida Tech at 20. However, the Panthers have just one match remaining to the Mocs two, which is a battle between the two in Melbourne on Wednesday, Oct. 28th.
Next, the Mocs travel to Miami top face Barry in the penultimate match of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 6 pm at St. Thomas University on Saturday (Oct. 24).
