Perfect PKs Push Tars into Third Round

PENSACOLA, Fla. (November 13, 2022) - For the first time since 2013, the Rollins Tars will advance in the NCAA tournament following their penalty kick victory over the West Florida Argonauts on Sunday afternoon. The #5 seed Tars now have an overall record of 10-3-3, while the #4 seed (and nationally ranked #11) Argonauts finish their year 12-2-5. Both losses for West Florida came at the hands of the Tars.

The home team Argonauts controlled most of the first half, outshooting Rollins 10-3. The third of those ten shots came in the tenth minute and found the back of the net courtesy of Keegan Ancelin, who scored off a feed from Fynn Geigle. Meanwhile, the Tars didn't manage a shot until the 19th minute of the game, and didn't manage a shot on goal until the 38th minute. Aside from the early netter, the rest of the first half was relatively quiet and the two teams headed to the break with West Florida up 1-0.

Rollins came out of the locker room with new energy, and did not take long to put themselves back in the game. In the 50th minute, Jorge Lameiras found himself on the right side of the Argo's zone. After working around his defender, Lameiras put a ball into the box that found Georgios Koliniatis. The Greek was able to control the ball, and punch it into the far left side of the net to knot things up. 

In the 68th minute, it was Koliniatis again coming through for the blue and gold. This time, he attacked from the left side of the goal. After creating space between he and his defender, Koliniatis found his inner-Allen Iverson, crossing the ball over to his left and blasting it past the Argo keeper for his second of the game. 

With the season on the line, West Florida was able to equalize late in the game on a goal from Kainan Dos Santos in the 79th minute. 

Regulation ended in a 2-2 tie, followed by a pair of scoreless ten-minute overtimes. That set the stage for a round of penalty kicks. 

Rollins was flawless in their offensive execution: Koliniatis went low right; Jari Polm used his left foot to find a spot on the right side; Nazar Tsaruk made it past a diving keeper to the left; and Kaden Foreman sealed the deal with a missile into the left corner. The Argos had missed previously on their second attempt when the ball it the crossbar. The game ended when, on attempt four, Maximillian Obermeier guessed correctly and made a sprawling save to his right to give the Tars the win.

Rollins now awaits the winner of #1 Florida Tech vs. #9 Lander, who will play on Monday, November 14 at 2:00 pm in Melbourne. Full details on next week's games will be available on RollinsSports.com as soon as they are announced.