MEN'S SOCCER GAMEDAY: #23 Eckerd at Tampa

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After breaking into the NCAA Division II Top 25, the Eckerd Triton men's soccer team begins a key stretch to close the regular season with a visit to the University of Tampa for a 7:00 PM kickoff on Wednesday night.

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SETTING THE STAGE
The No. 23 Tritons (7-1-1, 3-0-1) sit alone in first place in the Sunshine State Conference standings, but did suffer their first loss of the season on Saturday in a non-conference contest at No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic. Tampa (6-4, 2-1) is currently in fourth place in conference, and a win over Eckerd tonight would move the Spartans into excellent position to be one of the top four seeds in the postseason tournament.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Tritons got goals from Matt Dolan (23') and Richard Ainscough (59') on their way to a 2-0 road win over Tampa on October 21, 2014. Alex Gott stopped five shots in goal for his second clean sheet of the season as Eckerd picked up its first conference win of 2014.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Spartans hold a 31-10 lead over Eckerd in the all-time series. The teams have split their last six meetings, however, as the series has become much more competitive in recent years.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
- The Spartans are coming off a 4-0 win over Embry-Riddle on October 3, and will be well-rested heading into tonight's match as their contest scheduled for last Wednesday at Lynn was postponed. The 11-day period between matches will be Tampa's longest of the season by far.
- Tampa's defense has been solid all season long as the Spartans have allowed more than two goals in only one match, a 4-2 loss to then-No. 6 Palm Beach Atlantic. They posted back-to-back shutouts at home in a pair of conference wins over Nova Southeastern and Rollins.
- The Spartan offense is a very balanced one. Keith Francisco leads the team with four goals while five players - Bay Downing, Monty Berrow, Fredinho Mompremier, Troy Tucker and Jason Collister - have scored two goals apiece. Francisco leads the team in shots with 32.

ABOUT THE TRITONS
- Eckerd jumped into the NSCAA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll Top 25 on Tuesday, debuting at No. 23 after receiving a third-place ranking in the south region. It is Eckerd's first time in the top 25 since checking in at No. 24 on October 10, 2006.
- The Tritons now rank 14th in Division II in goals allowed average, surrendering 0.65 per game. Half of their goals allowed this season (6) came on Saturday in a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic. Eckerd still leads the conference in defense by a fairly wide margin.
- After Nick Jackson's two-goal performance on Wednesday, Eckerd now has four players with four goals each - Jackson, Richard Ainscough, Westleigh Rush and Matheus Assumpcao. Ainscough leads the team in assists with four.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Stat, Conference Rank)
GOALS: EC - Jackson, Ainscough, Rush, Assumpcao (4, T-9th); UT - Francisco (4, T-9th)
ASSISTS: EC - Ainscough (4, T-3rd); UT - Eight players (1, NR)
POINTS: EC - Ainscough (12, T-7th); UT - Francisco (9, T-13th)
SHOTS: EC - Jackson (21, T-10th); UT - Francisco (32, 5th)
SAVES: EC - Gott (37, 3rd); UT - Knight (35, 5th)
GOALS AGAINST: EC - Gott (.651, 1st); UT - Knight (1.199, 3rd)
SAVE PERCENTAGE: EC - Gott (.860, 1st); UT - Knight (.745, 3rd)