Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Sophomore forwards Tucker Hume and Grant Blackhurst each scored a pair of goals to drive third-ranked Rollins College past the Eckerd College men's soccer program on Saturday night at the Turley Athletic Complex, 4-1.
The Tars (5-0-0, 0-0-0 SSC) carried a two-goal advantage into the intermission before pulling away late as the Tritons (2-2-1, 0-0-0 SSC) cut into the deficit midway through the second half.
The match signified the start of the "plus four" scheduling for both teams in the Sunshine State Conference, a group of four league matchups early in the fall that are not counted in the SSC standings.
"As a group, we collectively left the field stronger as a unit tonight when the match ended," said EC Head Coach Steve Magee. "Rollins is a very good team and I'm proud of our effort to leave it all on the field."
Hume and Blackhurst, both All-Sunshine State Conference selections as freshmen in 2012, made their presence felt in respective halves of their own.
The 6-5 standing Hume delivered in the third minute of regulation and just 10 minutes later, added another goal following an interception of an Eckerd free kick near midfield.
Both goals were assisted by a pair of All-SSC performers, Brett Durrance and Rob Crowley.
EC junior forward
Matt Dolan looked to have golden opportunity with a header in front of the net, but Rollins' goalkeeper Keneil Baker swatted the ball away at the last moment to deny a Triton goal.
The Tritons regrouped at halftime and answered in a big way off a corner kick as sophomore
Mitchell Metzger delivered a low line-drive ball that skidded through the wall of the Rollins' defense where
Richard Ainscough capitalized on the other side.
Ainscough, a talented transfer from the University of Buffalo (N.Y.), scored his first goal of the season at the 65:53 mark in regulation.
With the Tritons down just 2-1 and 24 minutes to tie and force overtime or win outright, Rollins changed the pace with a pair of speedy outside reserve midfielders, Alexis Martinez and Marten Mueller, to create for Blackhurst in the middle of the field.
Blackhurst scored his goals in a five-minute span for much-needed Rollins insurance in the 77th and 81st minutes.
EC senior goalkeeper
Toni Virtanen made five saves as he fielded 25 different shots from the Rollins offense. His counterpart, Baker, dealt with eight EC shots on the night and saved two targets on goal.
The Tritons are back at home on Wednesday evening at the Turley Athletic Complex for the first of two regular-season meetings against Barry University. Eckerd and the Bucs are slated to get underway at 7 p.m. under the lights.
