GREENWOOD – The Lander Men's Soccer team earned a 1-1 draw with Florida Tech in the 2025 season-opener at Van Taylor Stadium on Friday night.

Newcomer Ryosuke Tanaka evened the score in the 66th minute after cutting in front of a Florida Tech pass and put one past the Panthers keeper off a feed from Orran Mushet, another of the new Bearcat faces this season.

Callum Stokes had one final scoring chance with 15 seconds left after the Bearcats earned a free kick but narrowly missed a top-left snipe.

Lander outshot Florida Tech 16-7 for the game and had a 5-3 edge in shots on goal.

Two of those came late in the going from senior Christian Hatley who nearly gave the Bearcats the lead twice in the 77th and 80th minutes, but the visiting keeper proved to have a steady hand.

Lander has a day to prepare for Rollins College on Sunday, Sep. 7, in a match scheduled for 1:30. The Tars bested the Wingate Bulldogs 2-1 in today's first game at the Jeff May Complex.