Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Grant Blackhurst scored two goals and Walker Hume tallied another as third-seeded Rollins College closed a storybook run for the fourth-seeded Eckerd College men's soccer program in the Florida Blue SSC Championship final on Sunday afternoon, 3-0.
After advancing through shootouts in the quarterfinals against No. 5 Saint Leo University and in the semifinals against No. 1 Lynn University, the Tritons ran out of steam in their valiant charge to the championship match.
Eckerd finishes the season with a 7-9-4 overall record. The Tritons were making a bid for their second SSC tournament crown in school history (1978).
Freshman
Nick Jackson, sophomore
Nick Murawski, senior
Matt Duffy and senior
Andrew Hoffer, were all named to the Florida Blue All-SSC Championship Team.
For the senior class of Duffy, Hoffer,
Turner Humphries,
Chris Moore, and
Daniel Lopez, it represented their final stand together as a unit in an Eckerd uniform.
“I'm so proud of the guys and what we've achieved this season,” EC Head Coach Steve Magee said. “We showed a lot of heart, spirit and determination, to get where we are and the future is very bright for Eckerd men's soccer.”
“Again, we faced a very good and a well-coached Rollins program today on the field,” he added. “The team left it all on the field.”
Behind a lineup laden with seven all-conference selections, Rollins won its second straight conference tournament title. The Tars managed to defeat the Tritons for the third time this season.
After the first 20 minutes resulted in just one shot being taken between both sides, Blackhurt broke open the scoreless affair with a strike in the 24th minute of action.
Blackhurst, an Honorable Mention All-SSC selection, cashed in on a pass from his all-conference teammate, Brett Durrance.
With EC on a quest to even the score, the Tars found a way to capitalize again early in the second half.
Hume, runner-up in the SSC Defensive Player of the Year voting to Eckerd's Duffy, scored a few minutes after the second half started with a header following a free kick from 40 yards out.
Hume was also tabbed the SSC's Freshman of the Year.
The Tritons fired off a flurry of shots in their final attempt to get on the scoreboard, but Blackhurst was the beneficiary of Mark Biddinger's second assist of the afternoon, sealing the match in the 88th minute with his second score before regulation expired.
Rollins held a minor advantage in the shot department, 8-6. Hoffer made a pair of saves in net to close out his final season.
