MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Florida Southern Men's Soccer team (10-2-3, 5-1-3 SSC) lost to Barry (6-6-2, 5-4-1 SSC) by a 2-0 score on Saturday evening (Oct. 24). The Mocs generated six of their nine shots in the second half and forced four saves overall, but the Buccaneers scored both goals after halftime.
The Mocs played the Buccaneers to a scoreless first half, combining early chances,
Ricardo Marques' work in goal and a late set-piece push. The visitors pressed first, earning a corner at 6:23 before
Hale Ottman hit the crossbae on his shot just a minute later and
Tim Baierlein later forced Henry Obi into a save in the 19th minute. The Buccaneers answered with a stretch of pressure in the middle of the half, but Marques saved attempts from Juan Wagner and Matthew Van De Warker before Jayden Byard's shot hit the woodwork at 26:04. Florida Southern generated four corners from 33:59 to 41:14 and put another Ottman shot on target during a physical closing stretch that included yellow cards to Ottman and Kendry Villafuerte, leaving the match 0-0 at halftime.
The Mocs pushed for the breakthrough in the second half, but the Buccaneers scored twice late and finished off a 2-0 result. Earlier,
Hector Oliver hit the top woodwork at 45:52, and
Ricardo Marques kept the match scoreless with two saves in a 10-second span early in the half before adding two more stops at 65:50. After a physical stretch through the middle of the half, Florida Southern generated three shots from 73:09 to 75:07, with Baierlein and
Joshua Grosser forcing saves around an
Ollie Stephens attempt wide. The Buccaneers broke through at 76:26 on Biel Vallverdu Campo's goal and added another at 82:57, while
Santiago Luna struck the top woodwork in the 86th minute as the Mocs continued to search for a response.
Marques recorded eight saves over the match, his season high, including six in the second half. Baierlein finished with two shots, both on goal. Ottman added two shots with one on frame. Three of the Mocs' nine total shots hit the post and also had double the amount of corner kicks, 8-4
Up next, FSC closes out their regular season on the road at Florida Tech on Wednesday (Oct. 28). The Mocs still have a chance to clinch the regular season SSC title as a victory over the Panthers on the road will give them a one-point advantage over the current leaders and would give the Mocs their first regular season title in program history. Kickoff in Melbourne is set for 6 pm.
