ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Sparks are set to fly on Saturday night at the Turley Athletic Complex as a new chapter unfolds in the entertaining rivalry between the Eckerd College men's and women's soccer programs and Rollins College.
The Tritons' men (2-1-1, 0-0-0 SSC) will put their early season momentum to the test against the No. 3-ranked Tars (4-0-0, 0-0-0 SSC) in the opening tilt at 5 p.m. followed by the women's matchup in the nightcap around 7:30 p.m.
The unbeaten Eckerd women (4-0-0, 0-0-0 SSC) have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 16-1 to begin the season. The No. 22 Rollins (3-2-0, 0-0-0 SSC) women's program has been ranked as high as 15th this fall.
Live stats and video/audio will be streamed on EckerdTritons.com.
The match for both teams does not count towards the Sunshine State Conference standings; they will still figure into the NCAA South Region rankings as part of the "Plus 4" scheduling outside the league schedule.
The Eckerd men are coming off a season-best eight goals riddled against Clearwater Christian College in the midst of heavy rainfall earlier this week. Junior forward
Nick Murawski tripled his season point total with a pair of goals and two assists in the offensive outburst.
Sophomore
Joe Swindell also scored twice and senior
Anthony Brenner scored within the opening minute of regulation.
Murawski currently leads the team in scoring with nine points and has converted both penalty kicks attempted this year. Junior forward
Matt Dolan scored his second goal of the season after depositing the game winner in overtime to begin the fall in Alabama.
Junior goalkeeper
Alexander Starzynski collected his first shutout in net as he faced six shots on the night from the CCC offense.
Six All-SSC performers are featured on the Rollins roster, including first teamers Rob Crowley and Walker Hume with second teamers Brett Durrance, Evan Greenbaum, and goalkeeper Keneil Baker. Grant Blackhurst was an Honorable Mention All-SSC pick.
Rollins and Eckerd have each defeated Flagler College this season when the Saints were ranked fourth and 10th in the polls, respectively. The Tritons' win vs. Flagler was in exhibition form while the Tars won 3-2 on Sept. 11.
EC and Rollins clashed three times in 2012, the last time in the Florida Blue SSC Championship final in Boca Raton. But it took overtime for the Tars to emerge as the victor in an Oct. 17 battle in St. Petersburg, 2-1.
"We are energized and ready to play an excellent Rollins team," said EC Head Coach Steve Magee. "Training has been good this week and we will be well prepared."
The Eckerd women have cruised through their non-conference schedule to date, chalking up four consecutive victories. The high-flying Triton offense ranks sixth nationally in scoring (4.0 goals per game) going into the weekend.
Junior forward
Arie Anahory continues to pile up the points at a record-breaking pace with six goals and three assists leading up to Saturday's match despite playing in only three of the four possible matches.
As of Sept. 15, Anahory is the NCAA Div. II top-leading point scorer (5.0 points per game) and goal scorer (2.0 goals per game).
Sophomore
Michelle Spesshardt has four goals in three games and another playmaking sophomore,
Devon Morse, has collected a pair of goals and netted three assists.
The Tritons most recently handed Florida Memorial University a 5-0 loss on Friday, just one day removed from blanking Clearwater Christian, 3-0.
Junior goalkeeper
Morgan Crescent has three shutouts already, giving her 10 in her career.
"Rollins is going to be a great game for us," remarked EC Head Coach
Danielle Fotopoulos. "They are a strong team and have great players. Our team has been training hard and we're ready to go out there and our best."
The Tars were toppled by Florida Tech on Wednesday evening. Rollins is led by SSC Offensive Player of the Year Brenna McKee and she headlines a group with first teamer Azure Dorsey and second teamer Taylor Thigpen.
Rollins battled defending NCAA Div. II champion University of West Florida to a 2-1 loss at home on Sept. 13.
Eckerd challenged then-No. 24 Rollins to a closely-contested 2-1 decision last year at home, forcing the Tars to score two second-half goals in the come-from-behind effort. Graduated senior
Dana Treat scored in the 31st minute for Eckerd.
