Courtesy of RobertsRedHawks.com
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men’s soccer team is returning to Florida.
The Redhawks scored four goals in the final 40 minutes to defeat Redeemer University 4-1 in the Midwest Region championship match to earn a berth in the National Christian College Athletic Association Division I National Championship in Kissimmee, Fla. Roberts finished second in the 2022 NCCAA Championships.
After conceding a goal in the 48th minute, Roberts (6-7-4) responded with three goals in the next 18 minutes.
Senior Tamas Nagy started the rally by converting his own rebound off a penalty kick for his 13th goal of the season with 39:10 to play. The Redhawks took the lead about 10 minutes later on an own goal by Redeemer after a Roberts’ corner kick.
Freshman Myles Palmer widened the margin for Roberts 8 minutes later, making a nifty move for his fifth goal of the season off an assist by Luis Cataldi Milan. The same pair connected again with 3:56 to play as Palmer set up Milan for his second of the season.
“I think the response (to the Redeemer goal) was very good,” Milan said. “It’s good to know that we can come back from one goal down. It just give us more motivation to go win in Florida.”
“I felt like it was coming,” Roberts coach Scott Reber said of the Redhawls’ rally. “We had so many chances in the first half and we just didn’t convert. So, it was a nice response to their goal.
“My message to the team tonight was to live in the moment. You can’t live in the past and their goal was in the past. We couldn’t do anything about it, we just had to move forward.”
Palmer, the 2022 All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year, provided a burst of energy and offense when the Redhawks needed it most.
“It was great,” Milan said. “He was great coming in off the bench. I was very happy for him and we just connected. I can’t explain it, it was just our night.”
Junior Caleb DaSilva made four saves for Roberts.
The Redhawks are awaiting official word on their seeding for the NCCAA Championship, which begins with pool play on Nov. 27 and concludes with the title match on Dec. 2.
Leave a Reply