LAKELAND, Fla. — The third-seeded Florida Southern men's soccer team (12-3-3, 5-2-3) defeated seven-seed Tampa (6-7-4, 4-4-2) 2-1 on Thursday night (Nov. 5) at a packed Berend Field. Florida Southern scored both goals in the second half and finished with a 13-8 advantage in shots.
The first half was dominated by the defense with
Ricardo Marques making an early save on Felix Poschmann's shot in the third minute. The Mocs created the longer attacking stretch after the midway point, starting with
Darcy Moffat's saved shot at 25:04 and adding attempts from
Tim Baierlein and
Dakota Henry around a corner kick. FSC continued to press through Baierlein's shot wide at 34:57, but the closing minutes turned more stop-start as the teams combined for several fouls. Moffat put another shot on frame with four seconds left, but Alex Hare saved it to keep the half scoreless.
To start the second half, the Spartans scored early on Leonard Bogeskar's strike in the bottom corner in the 48th minute, but the Moccasins answered with pressure that included
Chandler Crawshaw's shot, two corner kicks and a
Darcy Moffat attempt saved by Alex Hare. In the 56th minute, a header in the box found the feet of
Ollie Stephens whose shot was saved. However, the deflection went right back to the SSC Freshman of the Year to draw the match even at one.
Just over ten minutes later in the 69th minute,
Hector Oliver stole a pass and started the counter attack with the Mocs having an even 4v4 numbers margin on the break. Oliver passed out wide to
Tim Baierlein, who was clinical on his shot in the upper corner to give the Mocs the lead, and eventually the win, 2-1. After Baierlein's goal, FSC played through a physical stretch that featured nine fouls between the teams from 70:45 to 80:38, then continued to look for chances with Moffat's shot at 82:25. The Spartans hit the left woodwork at 84:17 and earned a corner shortly after, but the Mocs reached the final whistle with the 2-1 win.
Baierlein scored the game-winning goal and finished with three shots. Stephens added a goal and put both of his shots on frame. Moffat led Florida Southern with five shots, including three on goal.
Hector Oliver recorded an assist.
With the win, the Mocs advance to their first SSC Tournament Championship Match in program history and break an 0-5 record in SSC Semifinal matches. The Mocs also matched their second-most wins in a season in program history with their 12, the most since 2018.
The Mocs are set to face the fifth-seeded Lynn on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 pm at Berend Field where the winner will hoist the SSC Championship trophy.
