WINTER PARK, Fla. – For the first time in school history, the Eckerd College women's soccer program is bound for the postseason in the Florida Blue Sunshine State Conference Championship, drawing No. 4 seed Nova Southeastern University in a Tuesday-night quarterfinal matchup.
Since the tournament's inception on the women's side on 2003, the Tritons have been on the outside looking in -- until now.
Ultimately, the fifth-seeded Tritons have defied expectations from the conference this fall after being picked to finish ninth of nine in the Preseason SSC Coaches Poll.
The Tritons (9-6-2, 3-4-1 SSC) and the Sharks (4-7-3, 3-3-2 SSC) will square off in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday at 7 p.m. NSU claimed the only decision in the regular-season after both teams fought to a double-overtime scoreless tie in St. Petersburg.
Eckerd finished the regular season in a 10-point, three-way tie with Lynn University and Barry University, earning one of the two final seeds by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker, part of a three-game SSC win streak in the season.
Tuesday's winner will advance on to the Friday semifinals to face top-seeded Rollins College in Winter Park, who will remain idle with a first-round bye.
“It's wonderful -- wow,” marveled EC Head Coach
Danielle Fotopoulos. “It goes to show that all the hard work and the way things came together; everyone is part of this team. Every team is different and our team is special.”
“We started the year as the underdog and we feel comfortable being the underdog on paper going to Nova (Southeastern) again,” she continued. “Congratulations are deserving to our seniors and to our Eckerd athletic community. I'm really excited about the future and direction of this program.”
The winner of the Florida Blue SSC Championship will punch its ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championship with an automatic qualifier bid.
As the No. 1 seed, Rollins will host all semifinal matches and the championship final.
Live stats and live video/audio for the game will be streamed live with links provided on EckerdTritons.com.
Single-day ticket prices are as follows for the Florida Blue SSC Championship this year:
Adults: ($8 for single game AND doubleheaders)
Youth: Age 13 to College ($5 for single game AND doubleheaders)
SSC Institution Students: Free with proper institutional student ID
Seniors: ($5 for single game AND doubleheaders)
Children: Age 12 and Under (FREE for single game AND doubleheaders)
2012 Florida Blue SSC Women's Soccer Championship Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 30 (Quarterfinals)
No. 5 Eckerd College at No. 4 Nova Southeastern University – 7 p.m.
No. 6 Lynn University at No. 3 Florida Southern College – 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 2 (Semifinals)
Lynn/Florida Southern at No. 2 University of Tampa – 4:30 p.m.
Eckerd/Nova Southeastern at No. 1 Rollins College – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 4 (Championship Final)
Semifinal winners – 1 p.m.
