Tars Blank Fifth-Ranked Knights

WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 4, 2023) - Tenth-ranked Rollins dominated #5 Lynn in their matchup on Wednesday, with the Tars coming out on top 2-0. Rollins remains unbeaten on the year at 5-0-3, while Lynn suffers their first loss and now stand at 6-1-2.

The first ten minutes of the game were controlled by the Knights as they possessed the ball and moved at their own pace. Nothing came of the ball control however as the Rollins defense played incredibly tough and did not allow a shot on goal in the first half. 

Rollins picked up the pace about twenty minutes in, and were able to fire two shots at Lynn keeper Luca Clavero, but he stopped both with ease. 

Things changed in the 36th minute when Rollins found their way on the scoreboard. Rian Barrett found space and launched a shot, but it was blocked by a Knight defender. Fortunately, the ball landed right at the feet of Jorge Lameiras who was able to tap it home to the left corner of the goal to put Rollins up 1-0. It was his SSC-leading ninth goal of the season. 

Minutes later, a hard tackle from Lynn gave the Tars a free kick just outside the box. Nazar Tsaruk lined things up, and hooked a bender around a wall of five Knights into the top bin for the magnificent free kick strike. It was his third free kick goal of the year, and sixth overall. After the play, Lynn's Patrick O'Halloran received an unsportsmanlike yellow for cursing at the ref. Rollins would take the 2-0 lead into the break.

The Tars came out of the break in full control of the game, completely dominating time of possession in the second half. They had a number of chances to add to their lead, but shots were just missing by inches on open looks. 

As the clock continued to wind down, things began to get chippy on the field. Lynn were given a pair of yellow cards within three minutes of each other, including a second on O'Halloran, resulting in a red card and an ejection.

The remainder of the game saw Rollins keep the pressure on, but it did not change the outcome of the game. It would end in a 2-0 victory for the Tars.  

Max Walker made his first career start in goal for Rollins, and pitched a shutout. He did record a save as the backline defense of the Tars was impeccable, not allowing anything close to a shot on goal from Lynn. 

The shutout win was Rollins' first against Lynn since 2013. 

The Tars will hit the road to Lakeland on Saturday when they take on Florida Southern. Kick off is scheduled for 7:00 pm on October 7.