WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 31, 2022) - The Rollins Tars hopes for a Sunshine State Conference championship were dashed on Monday evening at the hands of the Nova Southeastern Sharks. The fifth-seed Sharks advance to take on the #1 seed Barry on Thursday following their 1-0 win. Rollins falls to 10-4-2 on the season, and will now hope to be selected with an at-large pick during the NCAA selection show on Monday, November 7.
The intensity for this matchup was off the charts as both teams came out in full force. On the Nova side, they looked to attack early and often, firing off three shots on goal in the first ten minutes. Fortunately for the Tars,
Maximillian Obermeier was locked in, and stopped each attempt. It took until the 15th minute for the Tars to get a shot off, and until the 23rd minute for on to count on goal.
In the 26th minute, the first of a whopping eleven yellow cards was distributed to the Sharks' Nick Brisevac. The entire 90 minutes of play was incredibly physical, with multiple stoppages for cards, injuries, and scoldings from the referee. Even the coaches weren't safe as Nova Southeastern had two yellows applied to their coaching staff.
Outside of the melee, there was a bit of soccer played. With only minutes to go before halftime, Rollins' Ben Burgess was hit with a yellow as the Sharks looked to attack the Tars' net. The result was a free kick from about 25 feet that was absolutely scorched into the left top bin by Brisevac to put the one and only goal of the night on the board.
Full credit goes to the Nova Southeastern defense, who did not allow a single shot on goal from the Tars in the second half. Feeling the clock ticking away, the pressure was on Rollins to score, but they just could not find a clean look as the Sharks packed the middle and sent away every cross and pass.
Now all eyes turn to Monday as the Tars hopes to make their first NCAA tournament since 2015.
