WINTER PARK, Fla. (September 1, 2006) ' The
Rollins men's soccer team defeated University of Alabama-Huntsville
7-3 thanks to a hat trick by senior forward Chris Cerroni on Friday
night at Barker Family Stadium.
The win is the third straight victory for the team to open the
2006 season.' The Chargers dropped to 0-3 with the loss.
Cerroni's three goals give him the first hat trick in Rollins
soccer history since current women's head coach Tony Amato netted
three in a 1998 contest.' Also scoring for the Tars were Jon
Gruenewald with his second and third goals of the season, Dennis
Chin with his third, and Juan Kusnir with his first.' Chin assisted
on three goals, Jacob Deloach and Leslie Osei on two, and Eric
Vergati on one.' The two assists for Osei brings him up to a total
of five in the young season.' Guilherme Dantas, Robert Presson, and
Paul Sammeroff scored for Alabama-Huntsville, and Duncan Kane had
an assist.
Dantas' goal was the first of the game when he collected a loose
ball in front of the Rollins net and scored in the 12th minute.'
Cerroni tied the game five minutes later (16:49) and put them ahead
2-1 with nine minutes left in the half (35:51).' Kusnir then scored
in the final first half minute off a Deloach cross to put Rollins
up 3-1 going into halftime.
The Tars started right where they left off, scoring just three
minutes into the second half (48:15) when Gruenewald intercepted a
pass by Chargers goalkeeper Tyler Early and easily knocked it into
the net.' Alabama-Huntsville would not go down without a fight; the
Chargers quickly fought back when Robert Presson netted a rebound
of a missed penalty kick by Kane in the 52nd minute, and then came
within one goal of the tie just 54 seconds later when Sameroff
scored off a loose ball in the penalty area.' The Tars responded
with Cerroni's third goal of the game in the 68th minute,
Gruenewald's second in the 71st, and Chin's first in the final
minute of play.
The game was not as lopsided as the score would show.' Rollins
finished with more shots than their opponents (20), but only by
four (16).' Both teams had the same amount of shots on goal (12)
and were close in corner kicks (Alabama-Huntsville's four to
Rollins' three).' The contest was extremely physical, shown by the
46 total fouls and six yellow cards combined by both teams.
The Tars will return to Barker Family Stadium on Sunday,
September 3 for an afternoon match against University of Montevallo
at 2:30 p.m.' That game will follow the same two women's teams
facing each other at noon.' Fans can listen live by logging onto www.RollinsSports.com.
