Melbourne, Fla. – Two second-half goals by Lynn University's 14th-ranked men's soccer team carried it to a 3-1 victory over Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon. Ewan Clarke notched his second multi-goal game of the season while Kyle Conrad inched a little closer to 100 careerpoints with his fourth goal of the year. The Fighting Knights improve to 5-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in Sunshine State Conference play.
Lynn put the pressure on early and often, getting several chances on goal within the first 10 minutes of play. The hard work paid off at 26:40 with a goal by Clarke. Conrad started the play with a quick throw-in on the right wing to Roberto Cadihle, who stopped short and quickly redirected his attack towards the top of the box. Receiving a pass just inside the box, Clarke spun left of his defender and fired a low shot to the left post for the 1-0 lead.
The Knights' defense limited Florida Tech (2-3-0, 0-1-0 SSC) to two shots through much of the first half but a breakdown in the final minute led to them heading into the half tied 1-1. First an innocent ball down the left sideline was kicked out of play then the ensuing throw-in was launched into the box. Alessandro Salvatore went up for the stop but Michael O'Farrell made his way into the air untouched and headed the ball from Salvatore's hands and into the net.
Already the owner of two game-winning assists, Harald Gracholski added another to the scoresheet in the 69th minute. The German native collected a loose ball near the top left corner of the box and then beat defender Kalle Manson down the sideline, stopping short of the corner. Gracholski faced-up then lifted a cross into the six-yard box. Clarke barreled through the defense and headed in the goal to make it 2-1.
Aiming to become the fourth player in school history to reach the century mark for points, Conrad got two points closer when he headed in a cross from Scott McCubbin in the 83rd minute. With nine points already, the senior from Jensen Beach, Fla., is 17 points shy of 100 for his career.
Lynn outshot FIT 18-8 overall and 8-4 on goal. Salvatore logged three saves in the win while his counterpart, Brentton Muhammed, stopped five shots in his Panther debut.
The Blue & White returns to action on Tuesday, September 21, at 3 p.m. when it hosts Rollins at the McCusker Sports Complex. Fans can watchand listen to the game live by logging on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting the "Game Central" icon.
