Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College men's soccer team showcased a high-octane offense while putting the clamps on defense as it routed Clearwater Christian College in a non-conference duel on Tuesday, 5-0.
The Tritons (5-2, 0-1 SSC) executed on corner kicks, threaded the needle with precise passes and limited the Cougars (3-5 overall) from Clearwater Christian to just one shot on the night.
Matt Knight scored a pair of goals in a swift 55-second span, Anthony Arico carved out a score and an assist while Nick Murawski and Ben Donovan tallied their first goals of the season. EC goalkeeper Andrew Hoffer received credit for a shutout in his first start of the year.
The match was initially delayed 20 minutes due to lightning in the surrounding area.
Eckerd dominated offensive possession from the beginning and it didn't take long for the scoring to follow as Murawski honed in on a deflection from a shot sent in by Arico at the 13:35 mark.
The Tritons kept knocking on the door for most of the first half with relentless pressure and found a resounding answer from leading goal-scorer Matt Knight.
Knight called for the ball at the top of the box and Sawyer Frank delivered a picture-perfect strike that was one-timed into the back of the net. Not even a minute later, the crafty junior forward slipped by the CCC defense once again and capitalized on another well-placed pass, this time from teammate Anthony Brenner.
The goals gave the Tritons a 3-0 lead going into halftime and marked the sixth and seventh goals of the season for Knight.
It also marked the third game this year alone where Knight has come up shy of the coveted hat trick as he scored twice in games against Francis Marion (Sept. 1) and Warner (Sept. 14).
The second half was devoted to the corner kick as the Tritons scored in the 67th and 72nd minutes off the set play.
Donovan cashed in off a corner opportunity from Drew Smith before Arico settled in the middle of the defense and headed a ball in from the leg of Matt Duffy.
The Tritons gave 23 players a chance to see the field once the rout was on and the Cougars' lone shot attempt was an errant breakaway in the first half.
On the docket next is another home non-conference matchup against Palm Beach Atlantic University on Saturday at 6 p.m.
