PENSACOLA, Fla. (November 23, 2025) - Yet another men's soccer game was full of drama until the final horn. This time the Rollins Tars used a late goal from
Pablo Herrero to earn a tough 2-1 win on the road at #4 seed West Florida to advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament. With the win, Rollins now stands at 11-4-5 overall, while the Argonauts finish 13-2-5.
It did not take long for the Argonauts to find the scoreboard. In the ninth minute, following a foul from the Tars, a free kick allowed West Florida to get a clean look at the goal. Rafael Esteves was able to find a hole in the defense and put one past
Kilian Vallant for a 1-0 lead.
The Tars did not have a shot on goal until a
Finlay Prain attempt in the 30th minute. That one, as well as the ensuing attempt from
Yousef Shakweer, were both stopped by Edward Alonzi.
It looked like West Florida was poised to take a lead into the break, but Rollins had one last attack up their sleeve.
Tolu Junaid received a nice pass from
Kaden Foreman, worked around a defender, and launched a shot that bounced off the crossbar, missing a goal by inches. Fortunately, the rebound went straight to Prain, who reached shoulder height with his foot and flicked the ball over Alonzi for the equalizer.
Rollins came out of the locker room rejuvenated, playing with an aggressive pace. They had a solid chance early on, but a contested shot from Prain hit the right post.
The first shot on goal of the half wasn't recorded until the 74th minute, with Vallant making a nice save on a header attempt. On the ensuing possession, the Tars were able to place two shots on target, but both were stymied.
After a number of substitutions and exchanged possessions, West Florida had a free kick from just outside the box as well as a corner, but the Tar defense stood strong.
Following the unsuccessful corner, Rollins made a push to the other end of the field.
Jordan Proulx made a strong run down the right side, and received a long pass. With space, he was able to enter a perfect cross into the box, where
Pablo Herrero was waiting. The Spaniard knew what to do, and blasted a shot past Alonzi for the 2-1 lead with only three minutes to play.
From there, Rollins played their team back and did not allow a shot from the Argonauts, holding on for the win.
The game served as sweet revenge for Rollins, who lost 5-1 to West Florida back in September. They now await the winner of Flagler vs. Palm Beach Atlantic in a third-round match that will take place on Sunday, November 30.
