Tars Tie Tech

WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 22, 2025) - Men's soccer earned a hard-fought 3-3 draw with #15 Florida Tech on Wednesday at home, The result moves the Tars to 6-3-4 on the year, while the Panthers sit at 6-1-6. The game did not count towards the SSC standings.

Florida Tech was able to put a pair of shots on goal early, but Kilian Vallant was up to the task of stopping each attempt. The first goal of the game came on the Tars' first try. Tech attempted to play the ball back towards their side of the field, but Daniel Keripe was able to gain control while surrounded by three Panthers, including the goalie, for an easy tap in to a wide open net. 

Near the end of the first half, Florida Tech was working their way towards the Rollins goal when their cross pass was stopped by the hand of a Tars defender. It resulted in a penalty kick that was successfully converted by Antonio Di Gaudio. 

On the ensuing possession, less than a minute later, Rollins answered back when Finlay Prain popped a cross into the box and Jayden Fernandez did the rest of the work for his first career collegiate goal. 

The second half came out like a rocket with both teams scoring within five minutes. Rollins started with Prain on the attack again. His shot was stymied by the Panthers keeper, but the rebound went to Cory Edwards for the third goal of the game. 

Similar to the first half, a rapid response was the result of the next possession. After a ball was played into the Rollins zone, a failed clearance ended up at the feet of Armando Loynaz, who found the back of the net just 40 seconds after Edwards' goal. 

A defensive battle played out for the next half hour, with Vallant having to work hard in goal as he was peppered by the relentless attack of the Panthers. They finally broke through in the 87th minute when Mario Rekirsch converted on another loose ball in the Rollins box. The last three minutes of the game saw a pair of yellow cards, but no further scoring. 

Florida Tech won the shot battle 15-10, including 9-7 on goal. Rollins had eight corners to the Panthers' six, but the Tars were whistled for a whopping 17 fouls compared to just seven against the Panthers. 

With the game not counting towards the conference standings, and senior day approaching on Saturday, head coach Keith Buckley rested a number of his key starters, including Kaden Foreman, Hayden Judge, and Yousef Shakweer. 

Next up for the Tars is the aformentioned senior day on Saturday, October 25. Kickoff against Embry-Riddle is lated for 6:00 pm, with the senior ceremony beginning around 5:40 pm.