WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 13, 2010) - The Tars
and Setters were knotted at four goals apiece at the end of the
third quarter, but Rollins exploded into the final period to
outscore their opponent 6-2, securing a 10-6 victory over Pace
University on Saturday afternoon in Winter Park.
Rollins (3-4) sets a new program record in wins in a season with
help from Justin
Wright, who led the team in points with two goals and an
assist. Matthew Lunnen ripped two
shots between the pipes, both in the second quarter, to match
Wright in goals. Austin Ricci, Charles
Cook, Chuck Magid, Charlie
Shelly, James Libutti, and Hudson Atkins
Jr. each netted one as the Tars put the Setters in their
place.
Pace (1-2) drops their second straight contest in the Sunshine
State, but not before seeing scoring action from Nicholas
Pellerito, who notched a game best two goals and two assists for
four points on the afternoon. James Hammel, Thomas Earl, Kevin
Swierc, and Joseph Clark tabbed one goal apiece to close out the
day.
The Tars saw a big day from Zach Cole who set aside 16
shots, including eight in the fourth quarter, to help keep the
Setters off the board. Cole faced a total of 37 shots, and 22
shots on goal in a full 60 minutes of action. His counterpart,
Sean Kearney, collected nine saves while allowing 10 goals on the
day.
Rollins was solid on defense, shutting down Pace in 4-of-5 man
up opportunities. The Tars were 11-for-18 on faceoffs thanks to Eric
Schmit who won 7-of-11, and Magid who walked away from the day
with a 4-for-7 mark. Freshman Nick
Scannapieco led the game with six ground balls, and was
followed closely by Cole who snagged five, while Schmit, Andrew
Vossler and Chris Gorman earned four
each.
The Setters jumped into action first, posting two goals from
Swierc and Pellerito in the first quarter to pull out to an early
2-0 lead. But Rollins held their own in the second period,
shutting down Pace and notching three goals of their own. Shelly
put the Tars up on the board first with 12:39 to go before the
half, cutting their deficit to one.
Lunnen pushed the Tars into the lead with two goals to close out
the second quarter, with Ricci getting the assist on both, to put
Rollins up 3-2 entering into the half.
Magid ripped a shot on cage with 9:18 left in the third period
to put Rollins ahead by two, but Earl and Pellerito closed the gap
in the final four and a half minutes of the period to knot the
score at four apiece entering into the final quarter.
Lubutti ignited a four goal run for Rollins as the Tars exploded
into the fourth quarter. With goals from Ricci, Atkins, and Cook,
the Tars found themselves with an 8-4 advantage with 8:06 to
go.
Hammel and Clark netted the next two goals of the game, closing
the gap to 8-6 with 3:35 remaining in regulation. But with two
goals from Wright to close out the game, including a well-placed
ball with .6 seconds on the clock in a man-down situation, the Tars
pulled out to a final four goal lead, and locked in their third
victory of the season.
Rollins closed out the afternoon with a 60 percent man-up
success rate, while shutting down their opponent on 4-of-5 extra
man opportunities and just two goals on 16 total shots in the final
15 minutes of action.
The Tars return to action in their final home game of the
regular season on Wednesday, March 17. Rollins hosts Deep South
Conference foe Mars Hill at 3 p.m. at Showalter Field in Winter
Park. Fans will be able to catch all of the action live on the
Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
