AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Florida Poly Men's Soccer put together a strong offensive performance against Florida College, scoring once in the opening half and twice after the break to secure a 3-1 victory. The Phoenix finished the contest with a 12-7 advantage in total shots and placed eight attempts on goal while limiting Florida College to five shots on frame.
Florida Poly established control early, generating several opportunities before breaking through in the 16th minute.
Jude Mason opened the scoring at the 15:15 mark, finishing an opportunity set up by Jonathan Brangman to give the Phoenix a 1-0 advantage. Florida Poly continued applying pressure throughout the opening 45 minutes, with
Felipe Romero forcing multiple saves and Ahmad Hijaz also putting an attempt on target. The Phoenix outshot Florida College 8-2 in the first half and carried their one-goal advantage into halftime.
Florida College increased its pressure after the break, but goalkeeper
Andres Villegas kept the visitors off the scoreboard with saves in the 51st and 62nd minutes. Florida Poly then doubled its advantage in the 71st minute.
Felipe Romero found the back of the net at 70:18, with Mason and
Jaydon Sparkman credited with assists, giving the Phoenix a commanding 2-0 lead.
The visitors responded at 76:40 when Jimmy Changa scored an unassisted goal to cut Florida Poly's lead to 2-1. The Phoenix defense held firm from there, while Villegas continued to protect the advantage. Florida Poly eventually put the contest away in the final minute. After
Kaden Curtin forced a save at 88:03,
Tarquin Adams scored at 89:04 to restore the two-goal cushion and make it 3-1.
Romero led the Florida Poly attack with five shots, including four on goal, and finished with one goal. Mason provided a goal and an assist, while Adams supplied the Phoenix's third goal. Brangman recorded an assist and a shot, while Sparkman also picked up an assist on Romero's second-half strike. Florida Poly finished with five corner kicks compared with three for Florida College and committed only five fouls over the 90 minutes.
Villegas played all 90 minutes in goal for Florida Poly and registered four saves while allowing just one goal. The Phoenix goalkeeper made three of those stops in the second half as Florida College attempted to work its way back into the contest. Florida Poly ultimately converted three of its eight shots on goal and received goals from three different players to complete the 3-1 result.
