- April 22, 2024
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If you haven’t been following the Tars mens soccer team at Rollins, then you’re missing out.
After a strong season last year during which Rollins won 11 games and made it all the way to the Sunshine State Conference Tournament finals — where they fell 2-1 to Tampa — the Tars are back on the pitch with a strong 6-2 start. Currently, the Tars are ranked No. 21 in the latest United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Men’s poll.
Although the Tars started the season with a 2-1 win over No. 18 Wingate, it was the second game against West Florida that really ignited the team, said longtime head coach Keith Buckley.
“It all comes back to Pensacola,” Buckley said. “When we were at West Florida, it was 1-1 with about 15 minutes to go, and then we scored, and that really set us off in that game.”
From there, the Tars went on an absolute tear between Sept. 9 to 14 as they dominated Spring Hill, Southeastern and Trinity Baptist by a combined score of 13-0.
The offensive onslaught is largely led by senior forward/midfielder Stefan Avram, who leads the team through six games with a whopping eight goals in 19 shots on goal. To put that in perspective, Avram’s best scoring season was last year, when he scored nine goals in 16 games.
Following up Avram in goals is senior mid Damian Clarke (three goals), and junior defender/mid George New (two goals). The remaining seven goals are shared by seven different players.
Avram’s scoring ability alone has grabbed three wins for the Tars — including his two goals in the win against Wingate, his two goals in a 2-1 win over Regis (CO) and his goal that kicked off the offensive explosion in the 5-0 win over Trinity Baptist.
But like any team sport, one man can’t do it alone, especially following the loss of five players to graduation from last year’s team. Players such as senior defender Andre Nansen, Clarke and New all have been key cogs to keeping the Tars machine running.
“Andre became our captain this year and just led by an unbelievable example,” Buckley said. “Damien was outstanding against Regis and played very well against Spring Hill, and George New scored a couple of really good goals for us that we weren’t really expecting.”
Keeping teams stuck with the big ol’ goose egg on the scoreboard is a trio of keepers. Freshman goalie Abdiel Martinez got the start in net for the first two games of the season — giving up one goal per game but still managing to pick up the wins. He also grabbed a half of game time in the 4-0 win over Southeastern.
Martinez was then followed by freshman Eidur Ivarsson, who started against West Florida and Spring Hill while also picking up a half of play against Trinity Baptist. Ivarsson has given up only one goal during his 225 minutes of play so far.
Last, but not least, is junior TJ Brubaker, who started in net for the games against Southeastern and Trinity Baptist — although he only played in the first half for both games. Regardless, Brubaker helped blank the Fire and Eagles.
Although the season thus far has been filled with success, don’t expect Buckley and his team to rest on their laurels.
With the non-conference part of the season complete, the Tars have to face off against teams in one of the toughest soccer conferences in the country. Teams such as No. 7 Palm Beach Atlantic, No. 15 Lynn (2-2), Florida Southern (5-0) and Nova Southeastern (5-1) lay in wait as the Sunshine State Conference awaits for the Tars.
“Our conference is always extremely competitive,” Buckley said. “We do most of our work in preseason, and now, it’s just getting them (the Tars) a couple of good practices and making them feel like their in a good position.”
