Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – A flurry of first-half scoring set the tone for a scoreless defensive struggle the rest of the way as Florida Tech staved off the Eckerd College men's soccer program to close out the regular season on Thursday, 2-1.
Senior
Alex Patterson put the Tritons (9-6-1, 3-4-1 SSC) on the board right before halftime with his first goal of the year, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Panthers (9-5-1, 5-2-1 SSC) from prevailing on their Senior Day.
Despite the loss, the Tritons clinched a postseason berth as one of the six teams to qualify for the Sunshine State Conference Tournament.
Even though the Tritons will end the season tied with the University of Tampa for sixth place, they own tiebreaker criteria by merit of a regular-season victory on Oct. 17, also EC's Senior Night.
“We're excited for the chance to perform in the postseason,” EC Head Coach Steve Magee said. “We know there will be some thorough preparation as we face some very strong teams and we're ready for that challenge.”
Patterson cut the Panthers' lead to make the score 2-1 in the 44th minute after Nick Robinson and Kristofer Andersson scored for FIT at the 9:13 and 14:31 marks.
Both teams recorded just nine shots against each other and the final 45 minutes were relentless as Eckerd aimed to put home the equalizer.
The Tritons outshot the Panthers, 4-2, spanning the second half, but Florida Tech's defense held strong as goalkeeper Brentton Muhammad made two saves in the final frame. His counterpart, Eckerd netminder
Toni Virtanen, saved three shots in the effort.
The Tritons will now wait for the release of the SSC Tournament bracket for word of their first-round opponent. Their opponent will depend on the outcome between Rollins College and Florida Southern College.
