Lakeland, Fla. — The Florida Southern men's soccer team (6-1-0, 2-0-0 SSC) defeated Lynn (2-1-3, 1-1-0 SSC) by a 2-1 score on Saturday night (Sep. 19) at Berend Field.
Joao Lopes delieverd the game-winner in the 59th minute while the defense held strong for the remainder of the match for the win.
Darcy Moffat put Florida Southern in front in just the 15th minute, finishing off assists from
Joao Lopes and
Hector Oliver on a crossing play for a 1-0 lead. Earlier, FSC earned a corner in the sixth minute, and
Ricardo Marques kept the match scoreless with a save on Luan Barroso Rennstich's shot at 11:58. The half turned more physical after the goal, with six combined fouls from 22:15 to 31:43, while Moffat added another attempt that went high in the 32nd minute. The Fighting Knights generated two shots and two corner kicks over the final stretch, but the Mocs did not concede and went into halftime ahead 1-0.
The Fighting Knights drew even with a free kick slotted goal from Robin Muenst in the 53rd minute. Lopes put Florida Southern back in front just six minutes later, scoring from Oliver's assist for a 2-1 lead, the eventual winner. Earlier, Marques saved Luan Barroso Rennstich's shot in the opening minute of the half,
Tim Baierlein had a shot saved at 48:40, and Lynn pulled even on Robin Muenst's goal at 53:34. The Moccasins generated more looks after Lopes' goal, including another Lopes shot, a corner kick at 67:46,
Luciano Schiaffini's attempt in the 74th minute and
Max Muth's saved shot at 82:21 on a breakaway attempt. The final stretch turned physical, but FSC held its 2-1 advantage as Marques made a save at 88:28 before the Fighting Knights' corner and final shot went wide, allowing the Mocs to close out the half with the lead.
Lynn had double the amount of shots as the home side (14-7), but only a 5-4 advantage of shots on target. Lynn had four corner kicks to FSC's two, but both teams were incredibly physical. Seven yellow cards were issued on the night, with four of them on the Mocs. Marques had four saves on the evening, his most so far this season.
Lopes scored the game-winning goal and added an assist, finishing with three points on two shots. Oliver led Florida Southern with two assists. Moffat scored on one of his two shots and put one attempt on goal. Marques made four saves over 90 minutes and was credited with the win.
Robin Muenst scored the Fighting Knights' goal and put both of his shots on frame. Luan Barroso Rennstich finished with a team-high five shots, including three on goal. Julian Marcos played all 90 minutes in goal and made two saves.
Up next, the Mocs host Flagler College on Wednesday (Sep. 23) in a nonconference bout at 6 p.m. at Berend Field.
