BOCA RATON, Fla. – For the second straight year and eighth time in program history, Lynn men's soccer claimed the SSC Tournament title. The second-seeded Fighting Knights powered past fourth-seeded Rollins, 6–1, behind a brace from
Thiago De Carvalho.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn generated the first real attacking looks in the first half as Fabian Vyhnalek and Anton Mand both tested Rollins early
- Thiago De Carvalho produced Lynn's best early chance at 17:08 with a low shot on target, but it was handled cleanly by Rollins' goalkeeper
- Lynn immediately followed with consecutive looks from Paul Brauckmann, keeping pressure on the Tars' back line
- Lynn found the opener when Brauckmann swung a cross into the box and
Luan Barroso Rennstich clipped a quick pass to Dominik N'Gatie, who finished for the first goal of the afternoon
- Both goalkeepers closed the first half with reliable stops including Luca Clavero's save at 35:54, helping Lynn maintain its 1-0 lead heading into halftime
- Lynn came out of halftime aggressive, creating early forward movement and earning back-to-back attempts from De Carvalho and Brauckmann within the opening three minutes
- The pressure paid off quickly as De Carvalho doubled the lead in the 49th minute, finishing inside the box after a link-up with first-half scorer N'Gatie, making it 2-0 Lynn
- Lynn extended its advantage again in the 59th minute as De Carvalho struck for his second goal of the half, this time connecting on a feed from Vyhnalek to make it 3-0
- The Fighting Knights continued capitalizing on sustained pressure, and in the 65th minute Brauckmann placed home Lynn's fourth goal, finishing a setup from
Junior Smith to take full command of the match at 4-0
- Rollins pulled one back in the 71st minute, cutting the deficit to 4-1
- Lynn responded immediately, producing two goals in a two-minute stretch, highlighted by Mand's header from a Barroso Rennstich corner
- Smith then found the back of the net, converting a goal on a setup from
Marc Ehmann to cap off the Lynn scoring surge at 6-1
- The Fighting Knights completed the match with a 6-1 win, sealing the Sunshine State Conference Tournament title
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- The 6–1 result marks the largest margin of victory in an SSC Final in conference history
- Lynn outshot Rollins 23–7 and allowed just two shots on target
- The men's soccer program now holds a 23–9–2 all-time record against Rollins
- De Carvalho scored the first two goals of his collegiate career in the SSC Championship Final
- N'gatie recorded a goal and an assist in just 59 minutes of action
- He is the SSC's leading goalscorer this season with 13 goals in 15 matches
- Barroso Rennstich added two more assists to his total and is now tied with
Robin Muenst for the conference lead with eight assists
- Smith was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after finishing with the most goals (four) and points (nine)
UP NEXT:
- Lynn awaits its opponent in the 2025 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament
- The 2025 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Selection Show will air Monday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 pm on NCAA.com
2025 ALL-SSC TOURNAMENT TEAM:
- Zico Groenveld (Rollins)
- Finlay Prain (Rollins)
- Hayden Judge (Rollins)
- Dominik N'gatie (Lynn)
- Tin Vastic (Palm Beach Atlantic)
- Caio de Amorim de Deus (Florida Tech)
