The Sandspur

Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of Roger French

In a display of amazing skill and teamwork Rollins Chris Cerroni scored a hat trick on October twenty eighth, his second of the season, to lead the men's soccer team to a semi-final 3-0 victory over Florida Tech. Cerroni was there again and again to complete his teammate's assists, whether it was a pass from midfield from defender Tres Loch, or killing finish after midfielder Jon Gruenewald chipped the ball over Florida Tech defenders.

Cerroni was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player. His goals pushed his career total to forty six, making him fourth all time highest scoring Tar in Rollins' history. Needless to say, the Tars entered the finals with high spirits and they would not be disappointed.

They repeated their shut-out victory with a 3-0 win over Barry University to clinch the tournament championship. This time there was a bit more diversity on the scoreboard however, with goals by Juan Kusnir and Christopher Chafin. Kusnir scored after thirteen minutes of play off a pass from Gruenewald and Thomas Makin.

Chafin scored well into the second half off a Chris Cerroni corner kick. Kusnir scored again in the second half to complete the final score. Although both offenses were aggressive on offense, with Barry actually tallying two more shots than Rollins, Rollins was much more effective. They had eight out of ten shots on goal compared to Barry's two out of twelve.

Rollins was the top seed in the tournament and Barry was second. Accordingly, four Rollins' players and three Barry players were named to the All-Tournament team, including Cerroni, Kusnir, Loch, and senior defender Anthony Santiago. The Tars now go on to NCAA South Regional Tournament hosted by the University of West Florida after re-entering the NCAA Division II rankings in the twenty-third spot.

They are the third seed in the regional tournament, and are set to face second seeded Lynn University in the semi-finals on Friday November 3 at 2:00 p.m.

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