WINGATE, N.C. (September 2, 2023) - Rollins fell behind twice on Saturday, but were able to fight back to a 2-2 tie against #24 Lander on Saturday afternoon. Rollins, currently ranked #7 in the USC Poll, now stands at 1-0-1 on the season.
The Tars fell behind early when Lander was able to find the net in the fifth minute of the game. Zach Meyer delivered a successful through ball to Christian Hatley who put the Bearcats on the board on their first shot of the game.
Aside from a yellow card to
Jorge Lameiras in the 32nd minute, not much else happened in the first half as the two teams saw their defenses stand tall for forty minutes.
Rollins started the second half with a new lineup, starting four different players from the original eleven. The move paid off as
Patrick Horan was able to score of a
Fabian Polland corner kick just four minutes into the second half to tie the game.
The next twenty minutes saw Lander turn up the aggression on both sides of the ball, including six fouls and two yellow cards. However, the Bearcats took advantage of a free kick opportunity in the 71st minute as Jamie Escos Castillo scored off a feed from Aingeru Aguirre to take a 2-1 lead.
A few minutes later,
Maximillian Obermeier came up in a big way, thwarting a pair of back-to-back shots from Lander to keep it a one score game.
Rollins turned up the heat in the final minutes, trying like crazy to find a chance to equalize. With just over two minutes to go in regulation,
Jorge Lameiras did just that, scoring on a solo effort to tie the game at two, which would end up as the final score.
Lander was called for 25 fouls in the contest, compared to just 13 against Rollins. The Tars had the advantage in corners, 6-2, while the Bearcats outshot Rollins 11-8.
Horan now has three goals in two games, after scoring four times in 14 games last season. Lameiras is the only other Tar to score this year, with two in as many games.
Next up for Rollins is their home opener against West Florida. The Tars will host the Argonauts in Winter Park on Friday, September 8 at 1:00 PM.
