– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 9 Rollins 14, Edinboro 7

Two Tars tallied hat tricks to help Rollins improve to 8-3 on the season. Marissa Giannerini and Sophie Townsend each scored three goals while Erica Pagliarulo finished with two goals and an assist.

– College Softball – No. 12 Tampa 3, No. 7 Rollins 1

Rollins dropped the final game in the series to Tampa, giving the Tars its first loss of the season in Sunshine State Conference competition. Rollins saw its 32-game winning streak end as they dropped to 34-2 overall and 11-1 in the SSC. Jessica Moreland finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Hope Bitzer pitched five innings and struck out seven batters in relief.

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 5, No. 23 UCF 2

Following a 13-2 loss on Saturday, UCF got swept by Southern Miss after falling 5-2 in the third and final game of the series. UCF trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning but was unable to tie the game when Erik Hempe had his line drive towards left field turned into a double play by the Golden Eagles.

= SATURDAY, April 2, 2011 =

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

Two UCF school records fell at the Florida Relays in Gainesville as Dominique Booker, Aurieyall Scott, Lynne Layne and Sheila Paul set new standards. The 4×100-meter relay time of 43.75, set just the week before, was replaced by a 43.53 effort. The 4×200-meter relay mark of 1:32.81 from three years ago was replaced by a time of 1:26.34.

– College Baseball – Rollins 15, Lynn 7

The Tars dropped the first game of the doubleheader 12-3 before returning to the field and snapping a five-game losing streak. Rollins jumped out to a 9-3 lead after scoring runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Brian Lattanzi went 3-for-5 and John Avanzino finished 2-for-4 with 5 RBI. Matt White got the win with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings to help the Tars improve to 19-14 overall and 2-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.

– Arena Football League – Arizona 48, Predators 47

Nick Hill was intercepted in the final minute of the game before the Arizona Rattlers went on to score a touchdown and two-point conversion with eight seconds left to shock the Orlando Predators. Arizona outscored the Preds 22-6 in the final quarter after Orlando jumped out to a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play. Hill threw five touchdowns but was intercepted twice while Bobby Sippio led the Preds with 12 receptions for 149 yards and a score.

– Florida Football Alliance – Rage 37, Duval 6

Former UCF and University High School quarterback Kyle Israel threw touchdown passes to Preston McGann and Jeremiah Chatman as the Orlando Rage closed out the regular season with a 10-0 mark. With the win over the Duval Panthers, the Rage wrapped up consecutive unbeaten seasons and improved to 31-1 over the past three years. Postseason play begins this weekend. The Rage will host the winner between the Jacksonville Knights and Daytona Beach Wildcats on April 16.

– United Soccer Leagues – Richmond 2, Lions 0

Richmond scored on a penalty kick near the end of the first half and tacked on another goal in the 84th minute to turn away Orlando City in its first-ever USL Pro game.

– Women’s College Tennis – No. 4 Barry 8, No. 9 Rollins 1

Rollins senior Margaret Junker, ranked No. 17 in the nation, won the lone match for the Tars as she defeated No. 33 Angie Werschel 7-5, 3-6, 10-5.

= FRIDAY, April 1, 2011 =

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 6, No. 23 UCF 5

UCF manager Terry Rooney and pitcher Ben Lively were tossed from the game, but the Knights nearly pulled the upset after being tied at 3-all in the ninth. UCF fell to 19-7 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA. The Knights committed a season-high five errors and are now 4-3 against ranked teams.

– Men’s College Tennis – No. 9 Rollins 6, No. 26 Saint Leo 3

The Tars improved to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sunshine State Conference as No. 5 Jeff Morris overcame a loss in the first set to put away Matt Nicholson-Lewis 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Morris and Arturo Baravalle were upended in doubles play by the No. 23 pairing of Nicholson-Lewis and Victor Lozier 8-5.

– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 2 Lock Haven 12, No. 9 Rollins 7

Tied at 5-all at the halftime break, Rollins (7-3) could not keep up with unbeaten Lock Haven (9-0) while on the road. Tori Snow and Marissa Giannerini each scored two goals in the loss for Rollins.

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

UCF freshman Aurieyall Scott set a new school record in the 200 meter with a time of 22.98 at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. Classmate Dominique Booker previously held the mark at 23.70, set last week at the UCF Invitational.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

= WEDNESDAY, March 30, 2011

– National Basketball Association – Hawks 85, Magic 82

In a preview of what may turn out to be an opening-round matchup in the playoffs, the Orlando Magic could not hang on down the scratch against the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks finished the regular season with three of four wins over the Magic. Jameer Nelson scored 20 points and had five assists. Dwight Howard (13 rebounds) and Hedo Turkoglu (8 rebounds, 5 assists) each scored 17 points.

= TUESDAY, March 29, 2011

– Women’s College Tennis – No. 9 Rollins 6, No. 11 Florida Southern 3

The Tars improved to 14-4 overall and 4-1 in the Sunshine State Conference. No. 29 Roshni Luthra defeated No. 31 Agnese Rozite 6-4, 6-4 in the top singles match and also teamed up with Allie Steele to win convisincingly in doubles competition. No. 17 Margeret Junker was upset in the second singles match by No. 32 Sabine Goge 6-3, 6-4.

= MONDAY, March 28, 2011

– National Basketball Association – Knicks 113, Magic 106

The Magic played the final moments of overtime without Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu after both fouled out in the extra period. Howard finished with a team-high 29 points and 18 rebounds despite turning the ball over five times. Turkoglu finished with 18 points, four assists and three turnovers. The Magic, who was without Jameer Nelson (sprained left knee), J.J. Redick (strained lower abdomen) and Quentin Richardson (lower back), turned the ball over 21 times overall in the loss.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

The impressive college basketball career of Rollins College guard Nick Wolf was topped off with the senior being named a First Team All-American by Division II Bulletin and Second Team All-American by Basketball Times.

Wolf was also named to the First Team All-South Region by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He garnered Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year for the second time in his career, was named SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the First-Team All-SSC squad for the third straight season.

The Cincinnati native averaged 21.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while leading the Tars to their second straight conference regular season and tournament titles.

Rollins was the third seed in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament but lost to Florida Southern, 76-74, despite game-highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds from Wolf.

Rollins finished the season 25-7, earning 20 or more wins for the third straight season and fifth time in the past six years.

Wolf led Rollins to a record of 91-32 during the course of four years, to tying for the most wins in school history. He is the Tars’ all-time second leading scorer with 2,035 points while also ranking second in rebounds with 1,046. He is the only 2,000 point-1,000 rebound player in Rollins basketball history.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Men’s College Lacrosse – Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Rollins 12

Despite a program record six goals in one game by junior Austin Ricci the Rollins Tars dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the Deep South Conference on Sunday. It’s the first-ever conference win for Lenoir-Rhyne, who broke an 11-all tie with under eight minutes to play to take the lead for good.

– College Softball – UAB 5, UCF 3

The Knights allowed five runs in the third inning and never recovered as they dropped to 12-22 overall and 3-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers (24-9, 8-1 C-USA) took two of three games after splitting with UCF on Saturday.

= SATURDAY, March 26, 2011

– Arena Football League – Predators 68, Blaze 53

Orlando Predators quarterback Nick Hill went 24-of-36 for 331 yards and eight touchdowns while Rayshaun Kizer intercepted three passes and ran one back for a score Saturday night. The Predators (2-0) downed the Utah Blaze (1-1) in its first game at the new Amway Center in front of 12,186 fans.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Freshman Dominique Booker set two new school records on Saturday during the second day of competition at the UCF Invitational. Booker set a new mark in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.70, good for fourth place and enough to surpass the previous mark set by Sonnisha Williams (23.79) just last week. Booker also joined Aurieyall Scott, Sheila Paul and Tyler Smith in the 4×400-meter relay, where the group took first place with a time of 43.73 (previous mark was 45.05).

– United Soccer Leagues – Lions 2, USF 0

The Orlando City Lions wrapped up its preseason schedule Saturday in Tampa, where they got goals from Yordany Alvarez (30th minute) and Jamie Watson (60th) on assists from Devorn Jorsling in the win. The Lions finished the preseason schdule 6-2 with wins over Philadelphia Union (1-0) and Toronto FC (1-0) of Major League Soccer as well as Rollins (3-1), UCF (5-1) and Stetson (5-3). Orlando City lost to FC Dallas (1-0) and BK Hacken (3-2). The reguler season begins this weekend on the road against Richmond.

– Men’s College Tennis – UCF 4, NO. 53 DePaul 3

Facing their seventh nationally-ranked opponent in a row, the Knights clinched the win over DePaul when freshman Mitch Thams won the final two sets of a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 match against Filip Dzanko at No. 5 singles.

= FRIDAY, March 25, 2011

– College Baseball – UCF 7, No. 23 Rice 2

Despite a school-record eight walks, freshman Ben Lively improved to 5-0 on the season while D.J. Hicks went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched a scoreless inning in UCF’s Conference USA opener at Rice (15-10, 0-1 C-USA). Lively is the first pitcher at UCF to start the season perfect in five games since Ray Rodriguez and Darren Newlin did so in 2005. Joe Rogers picked up the save. The Knights trailed 2-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the top of the fifth. UCF turned a season-high four double plays in the win and improved to 17-5 overall and 1-0 in C-USA.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Sophomore Sonnisha Williams broke her own school record in the long jump by five-and-a-half inches to take first place in the event during the opening day of the UCF Invitational. Williams went 20-11.75/6.39m at the UCF Track and Field Complex to best the previous mark of 20-6.25/6.25m set last May at the NCAA East Regional. Competition picks back up on Saturday with Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tennessee and Rhode Island taking part.

– National Basketball Association – Magic 95, Nets 85

The Magic won its fifth game in a row after pulling away from New Jersey with just over eight minutes to play in the fouth quarter. Hedo Turkoglu went 8-for-11 from the field for 20 points, 13 assists and no turnovers in the win while Dwight Howard finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Already playing without J.J. Redick, Orlando (47-26) lost Jameer Nelson to a knee injury in the first half.

– College Softball – Rollins 10, Lynn 0

The Tars improved to 30-1 overall and 7-0 in the Sunshine State Conference in the opening game of its series against Lynn (6-26, 1-6 SSC). Rollins scored eight runs in the second inning as Krista Rodden, Lake Mary alum Hope Bitzer, Winter Springs alum Christine Roser and Hilary Brown drove in runs. Kristen Frame, the reigning confernce player of the week, struck out six in five innings.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

Rollins (25-7), ranked No. 16 in the nation, claimed the Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament titles but were eliminated by Florida Southern 76-74 on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds to play in Hunstville, Ala.

While Florida Southern (23-8) shot 15-of-20 from the foul line, the Tars made just 19-of-32 attempts from the stripe, including only 4-of-11 in the final four minutes.

Nick Wolf ended his career at Rollins by scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Wolf leaves Rollins at No. 2 all-time on the school’s list with 2,035 points and 1,046 rebounds.

The game featured nine ties and 13 lead changes.

Rollins tied the game at 71-all with 2:22 remaining before Wolf put the Tars on top with a layup. But Florida Southern answered with a pair of free throws to tie the game back up at 73-all with 53 seconds to play.

Wolf split a pair of free throws from there, and Rollins held Florida Southern without a basket in their next two looks at the basket. Ian Scott went on to missed two free throws with 10 seconds to play, leaving the door open for Florida Southern’s Dominic Lane to nail the winning shot from the left corner.

( – Below is an edited version of 2010-11 recap as released by Rollins Sports – )

Rollins was picked first in the conference preseason poll and lived up to the billing, setting a new school record for consecutive SSC victories (11) and tying a program-best 13 conference wins.

Rollins started the year ranked No. 17 in the NABC Division II Coaches poll and split games at the season opening Gulf South/Sunshine State Challenge. They then rattled off four straight victories, including a conference win over Nova Southeastern, and climbed to No. 15 in the polls before a setback at Palm Beach Atlantic dropped them out.

An early statement win came in the Great Western Shootout as the Tars downed then-No. 5 Central Washington by ten and completed the Sin City sweep with a win over Western Washington. The Tars closed 2010 with a runner-up finish at the Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament, falling to Winston Salem State by seven in a thrilling final.

After a loss to Tampa on Jan. 2, the Tars hit their stride in a big way by winning 12 straight, avenging the loss to Palm Beach Atlantic, and rising to No. 18 in the Division II poll. The streak also allowed Rollins to build a three-game lead in the SSC standings with three games to play. Losses on the road to Florida Southern and Florida Tech kept the outright title at bay, but Rollins took care of business in the season finale, thrashing Lynn 93-68 and claiming the honors.

As the top seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, the Tars blew out Barry in the opening round, held off Tampa in the semifinals and won a hard-fought battle over Eckerd in the championship. The title was the fourth in program history.

Nick Wolf, the only player in Rollins history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds, was the unanimous pick for SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He was also named SSC Player of the Year and led Rollins into postseason play by averaging 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Wolf’s 91 victories are tied for the most in program history.

Matt Robertson entered Saturday’s game averaging 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds while Myk Brown was putting up 12.2 points a game. Ian Scott led the team in steals (55) and Chris Malcolm was tops in blocks (46) for the Tars.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

Sharpen your No. 2 pencils, kids. We’re going back to school…

= UCF’s Darnell Sweeney out to hot start =

Dear local baseball fans, you’ll be hearing plenty about UCF shortstop Darnell Sweeney over the next few years.

On Monday the sophomore was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week for helping the Knights go 3-1 with wins over Bethune-Cookman, South Alabama and No. 29 Alabama. UCF’s record now stands at 6-1 with the lone loss coming in a 7-2 setback to Southeastern Louisiana. But more on that game later.

In those four games last week, Sweeney went 11-for-17 at the plate (.647) with 6 RBIs, 5 doubles, 3 walks, a stolen base and a 1.759 on-base percentage. Most impressive for the switch hitter was that he never struck out and was perfect on 19 opportunities in the field.

It’s the second career C-USA weekly honor for Sweeney. He is currently batting .500 on the year, which is tops in the conference.

= Streak ends for Taylor in tie with Myers =

The impressive consecutive-game hit streak for UCF junior catcher Beau Taylor finally came to an end last week.

In a 9-4 win against South Alabama, Taylor logged a hit in his 26th-straight game dating back to last season. That tied him for the longest such stretch in program history previously set by Mike Myers in 2001.

But the streak ended in a loss on Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana. The Knights begin a 13-game home stand on Wednesday against Maine at 4 p.m.

= UCF women lock up No. 2 slot in C-USA =

Following an up-and-down start the season the UCF women’s basketball team have since turned things around in a big way.

Last week the Knights (18-10 overall, 11-4 in C-USA) secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament in El Paso, Texas being held March 9-12.

The Knights won the 2009 conference tournament as the No. 5 seed under head coach Joi Williams, who was named the league’s coach of the year.

UCF, winners of seven in a row, host its regular season finale and Senior Night on Thursday against Memphis at 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports. Admission for all fans is free. The first 250 fans will receive a UCF women’s basketball t-shirt. The first 500 fans through the doors will receive a free poster of UCF’s five seniors.

Playing in their final home game at UCF will be Jelisa Caldwell, D’Nay Daniels, Angelica Mealing, Leah Paige and Chelsie Wiley.

= Rollins men claim No. 1 seed in SSC =

As expected, the Rollins College men’s basketball team won the Sunshine State Conference regular season title for the second year in a row with a 93-68 triumph of Lynn on Saturday.

Rollins (22-6 overall, 13-3 in SSC) entered the week ranked No. 18 in Division II. They have now won at least a share of six of the last nine regular season titles under head coach Tom Klusman. The Tars move on to defend its Sunshine State Conference Tournament title on Wednesday in the opening round as hosts against No. 8 Barry at 7 p.m.

Senior Nick Wolf leads the SSC in scoring with 20.6 points per game, is second in rebounding with 10.1 per game and seventh in assists with three per game. Wolf recently surpassed his uncle, Jeff Wolf, for third on the school’s all-time scoring list. He is well on his way to finishing out his career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Senior Matt Robertson ranks ninth in the league with 14.8 points and eighth in rebounds with 6.2, while junior Myk Brown is No. 14 in scoring with 13 points per game.

Timber Creek High School alum Chris Malcolm ranks third in the league in blocked shots with 1.6 per game. He set the new school record for blocks in a game when he swatted away nine shots against Saint Leo last month. He broke the previous mark of eight blocks set by Frode Loftesnes against Saint Leo in 1995.

= New 3-point record set at Rollins =

The record books continued to be rewritten at Rollins College last month.

On Feb. 12 against Saint Leo, Amber Heistan broke the school record for most 3-pointers in a game when she connected on seven treys in a 73-50 win. Heistan went 7-of-8 from deep and finished with a career-high 21 points and five steals in the win.

Jessica Pressley hit six 3-pointers in a game three different times for Rollins while Jennifer Gossett and Nicole Sullivan each made six shots in a game from beyond the mark once.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

In case you missed it, the Tuskers lost the UFL title game against the Las Vegas Locomotives 23-20 while the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-18 for the CFL title.

Former UCF football player Keith Shologan finished out his season with Saskatchewan at defensive tackle, making 30 tackles and recording three sacks. Former Florida State quarterback Adrian McPherson and former Florida quarterback Chris Leak saw playing time this season for Montreal.

– Rollins Soccer Caught In Snowstorm –

The most surprising thing about the Rollins College men’s soccer team playing in the Division II National Championship game this past Saturday was not that they qualified in the first place, but rather the weather conditions they were forced to play in. If you’ve yet to see it, check out the video highlights at NCAA. The Tars lost 3-2 to Northern Kentucky in weather more suitable for a football game, of the American kind.

The Rollins College roster featured several local high school alumni, including seniors Chris Cummings (Ocala St. John Lutheran), Stephen Wright (Winter Park), Bradley Welch (Cypress Creek) and Blade Zych (Lake Brantley). Plenty of local talent returns for next season. View the Tars roster at Rollins Sports.

– High School Football Finals Take Shape –

The high school football state finals begin this weekend at the Citrus Bowl with four games taking place between teams in the lower classifications.

Friday’s finals include Warner Christian Academy vs. Glades Day in Class 1B at 1 p.m., and Trinity Christian Academy vs. American Heritage in Class 1A at 7 p.m. On Saturday it’s Trinity Catholic vs. University School of NSU in Class 2B at 1 p.m., and Cocoa vs. Glades Central in Class 2A at 7 p.m.

The marquee prep football game of the weekend, though, is the Class 6A semifinal between favored Dr. Phillips at Seminole on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The state title games for classes 3A-6A take place Dec. 17-18.

A complete lineup is available at FHSAA.

– College Football Bowl Games Announced –

On Sunday the NCAA announced this season’s bowl game matchups, including the opponent for UCF at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. and the matchups for both contests in Orlando at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

UCF (10-3) is ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and will take on Georgia (6-6) on Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m. The Knights faced the Bulldogs just once before, losing 24-23 in Athens during a regular season game in 1999. UCF Coach George O’Leary previously faced Georgia on seven different occasions as head coach at Georgia Tech. UCF lost its only trip to the Liberty Bowl against Mississippi State 10-3 following the 2007 season.

Florida Citrus Sports chose to pair West Virginia (9-3) against N.C. State (8-4) in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m., and Alabama (9-3) against Michigan State (11-1) in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m.

Check back for plenty more coverage of the upcoming bowl season.

– Magic’s Dwight Howard Best In November –

You see where Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November?

He finished fifth in the Conference in scoring (21.8 points per game) and third in the league with a .594 shooting percentage. Howard also ranked fourth in the league in rebounds (12.1) while helping get the Magic off to a 13-4 start. It’s the fifth time in Howard’s career that he’s earned the league’s Eastern Conference monthly honor, also doing do in April 2006, November 2006, November 2007 and December 2007.

Among the highlights for Howard last month were:

Nov. 3 vs. Minnesota: Recorded 18 points, 16 rebounds and a season-high eight blocks in a 128-86 win over the Timberwolves.

Nov. 5 vs. New Jersey: Tallied 30 points and 16 rebounds in a 105-90 victory over the Nets.

Nov. 24 vs. Miami: Registered 24 points to go along with 18 rebounds in a 111-100 victory over the Heat.

Nov. 27 @ Washington: Compiled a season-high 32 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and hit the game-winning  shot to defeat the Wizards by a score of 100-99.

– UCF Men’s Basketball Out To Fast Start –

The UCF men’s basketball team is out to a 7-0 start for the first time at the Division I level, meaning the Knights have yet to lose under new head coach Donnie Jones. For their efforts, UCF has received votes in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls for the first time since 2006.

On Saturday, following the football team’s Conference USA championship win, the hoops team did away with Southeastern Louisiana 74-49.

Sophomore Keith Clanton tied the school record for blocks in a game when he turned away eight shots in the win. Clanton also finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, which ties his career high. Tony Davis also blocked eight shots on Dec. 1, 2007 against USF. John Friday blocked seven shots in a game twice in January 1987.

The Knights play again on Saturday, Dec. 11 at UCF Arena against Bethune-Cookman at 5 p.m.

– Edgewater & Timber Creek Alumni In D-II Title Game –

Edgewater High School alum Kaleigh Cunningham finished her collegiate volleyball career as an outside hitter with Tampa in the Division II National Championship on Saturday in Louisville.

Tampa (31-4), who went 15-1 in the Sunshine State Conference, dropped the title match 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-10 to four-time defending champion Concordia-St. Paul (32-4). (See footage at NCAA)

Cunningham finished the season with 313 kills, 220 digs and 12 service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Yingling (Timber Creek) finished with 266 kills, 369 digs, 25 aces and 24 blocks for Tampa.

– Former UCF Women’s Soccer Player In D-III Title Game –

Former UCF women’s soccer player Alex Brandt finished her sophomore season at Messiah College with an appearance in the Division III National Championship.

Messiah (24-1) lost 2-1 to Hardin-Simmons (24-0-1). Brandt was credited with her 13th assist on the season with 15 minutes to play, when she set up Alicia Frey just outside the box for a goal. (See footage at NCAA)

Brandt, who was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team in 2009, started in all 25 games this season and scored eight goals as a midfielder. She started 23 games for UCF while finishing the year with two goals and three assists.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

(– View video footage of the championship game at NCAA.com – )

( – Below is an edited version of the press release by Rollins Sports – )

Down 2-0 in the first half, the Tars evened the score early in the second, but a late Northern Kentucky goal proved to the be game-winner as the fifth-ranked Rollins men’s soccer team fell 3-2 in the NCAA Division II National Championship game.

Adam New scored in the 48th minute to get Rollins on the board then Jack Clifford tallied the equalizer five minutes later. Northern Kentucky scored the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute, which proved to be the championship winner.

Rollins’ most successful season in its 54-year history comes to an end with a 15-4-3 record, while national champion NKU finishes at 20-2-3.

The main storyline of the day was the weather, as a dusting of snow Friday night pushed the game back an hour to 4 p.m. Flurries turned into an all-out winter storm by kick-off and conditions deteriorated throughout the game. Despite clearing the pitch at the half, the artificial turf at Frazier Stadium was completely covered in two inches of snow by game’s end.

The less-than-ideal conditions played a large role in the first half as the teams searched for solid footing. NKU got on the board first as Paul Andrews lofted a free kick into the box that was deflected to Jack Little for the score. The Norse added another goal in the 33rd minute as a scramble in front of the frame resulted in the ball being rammed into the back of the net by Jordan Grant.

Rollins returned from the locker room a new team and quickly took control of the game. In the 48th minute, the Tars earned a corner and Kevin Boone sent the try into the box, right to the head of New for the score.

Momentum continued to swing the way of Rollins five minutes later as a Tars shot skidded into the box, was battled for, and eventually found the foot of Clifford for the goal.

NKU flipped the field on the Tars and pressed forward as time wound down. Michael Holder found himself open on the left side and headed the ball toward Rollins keeper Keneil Baker. The freshman stopped the initial shot, but the slick ball squirted free and bounced into the back of the net.

The Tars continued to attack. But three shots on goal by Chase Neinken, and another by Ryan Maleknia, were all saved by NKU keeper Michael Lavric. The Norse then went on to pin the ball in the corners and kill the final three minutes, denying Rollins its first NCAA men’s soccer championship.

Clifford, New, Thomas Biddinger and Bradley Welch were all named to the NCAA Division II All-Tournament team.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

On Thursday night in Louisville, Ky., the No. 5 Tars defeated previously unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Midwestern State 2-1 to advance to the finals.

Rollins (15-3-3) meets up with No. 4 Northern Kentucky at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the title game. Northern Kentucky (19-2-3) defeated Dowling 4-1 in the other semifinal.

The game will be shown live on CBS College Sports and broadcast locally on WPRK 91.5 FM.

Rollins advances thanks to two goals from defender Jack Clifford, who scored each time off corner kicks by Kevin Boone. The first came on a header in the 30th minute in the first half. The deciding goal took place in the 65th minute when Clifford got his foot on the ball while inside the box and drove it into the back of the net.

Midwestern State (19-1-2) tied the game after the halftime break on a strike by Nathan Fitzgerald in the 57th minute.

Freshman goalkeeper Keneil Baker finished with seven saves as the Rollins defense, which included Boone, Matt Bauchle and Thomas Biddinger, allowed only one shot on goal in the first half. The Tars outshot MSU 13-10 in the win.

– View video highlights at NCAA.com –

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles)

No. 5 Rollins (14-3-3) got past Clayton State 3-2 in double-overtime when Neinken meet up with a free kick toward the goal by Kevin Boone and scored the winning goal in the 106th minute.

That effort keeps alive an already impressive season for Rollins. They now play Midwestern State (19-0-2) in the semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 2 in Louisville, KY. The championship game will take place two days later on Saturday at 3 p.m. Dowling (12-1-6) and Northern Kentucky (18-2-3) are in the other semifinal.

Fans can keep up with all the action at Rollins Sports.

Although it’s the first trip to the final four for Rollins in program history, this journey is nothing new for Neinken. He was part of last season’s Division I title won by Virginia, scoring in the deciding shootout to help seal the win over Akron. Neinken scored his first goal on Saturday in the 14th minute when a free kick from Boone set him up to punch in the goal and give the Tars an early 1-0 lead, which they held at the break.

Clayton State tied the game in the 57th minute before Neinken sent a header past the keeper in the 62nd minute, off a cross sent by Nick Sowers, to put Rollins in front again. Then with 12 minutes left in regulation, Clayton State scored on a header of its own to force the extra time.

– UCF Soccer –

The UCF Knights’ season came to a close on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Division I Tournament in Ann Arbor. UCF led 1-0 at halftime against No. 19 Michigan, the No. 10 seed in the tournament, before going on to lose 2-1 in overtime.

UCF (12-5-3) seemingly did all they needed to do in regulation, though. Sophomore goalkeeper Shawn Doyle matched a career-high with 11 saves in the loss and the Knights’ defense held the nation’s leading goal scorer, Soony Saad, from doing any damage despite taking a game-high 10 shots (four on goal) throughout the match. Saad entered the game with 18 goals on the season.

After UCF opened with a goal by Nik Robson in the ninth minute, the Knights held a 1-0 lead until Michigan tied the game in the 50th minute, which eventually forced overtime. Michigan didn’t take long to end things for UCF as they improved to 15-4-3 with a goal just four minutes into the extra period.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –