On Sept. 9, both Rollins soccer programs were in action against Sunshine State Conference rivals the University of West Florida Argonauts.
The women stepped onto the field first. The Tars, now ranked 20th in the nation, debuted their ranking with a consistent attack and a solid defense led by center defense Anita Cox ’13 against the Argonauts. The game, however, had an interesting turn of events when two minutes before halftime it was delayed for two hours due to lightning.
Following the long delay, the Tars dominated on offense; however, they could not capitalize on their chances. After regular time ended, two golden goal extra times were played but no team was able to put the ball in the net.
“West Florida is always a hard opposition to play. I think that after the rain delay we collectively played well as a team. We were really disappointed to come out of the game without a goal — we just needed to take our chances — but getting another shutout is always a positive,” said Cox.
Following the gridlocked women’s game, the men took the field with a home crowd charged from the lightning delay. The Argonauts came into Cahall-Sandspur Field with a 1-1 record looking to upset the second-ranked Tars. However, midfielder Rob Crowley ‘14 began the landslide of goals in the 43rd minute with an assist by midfielder Nick Sowers ‘12. The offensive onslaught continued in the second half with goals by Sowers and midfielder Marten Mueller ‘14. The Tars dominated in their frontline and their defense was once again supported by goalkeeper Keneil Baker ‘14, who achieved his third clean sheet.
“I think the season is going well thus far. We have a 3-0 record and have been playing well offensively and defensively. There is exceptional talent in every position, we just have to continue to grow as a team,” said Baker. “We are a talented but young group, and there are a lot of new faces on the team. We have done well up to this point and [are] growing collectively with every game we play.
Our performance is gradually improving, which, in my opinion, has been the key to our great start,” he said.
On Sept. 19, the men’s team defeated the Saint Leo Lions in double overtime. The Lions were ranked 16th in the nation and were undefeated coming into this game.
The women’s team won again in a Sept. 14 away game against the Northwood Seahawks, defeating them 2-0.
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