Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The hopes of an unbeaten home schedule were dashed with one deflection.
A free kick by Lynn's Chris Hellman bounced off the crossbar and right to the feet of Torner Bitton, who quickly sent the ball into the back of the net for the golden goal as the Knights handed the No. 23 Eckerd Triton men's soccer team its first home loss of the season.
Eckerd (7-3-1, 3-2-1) had posted five wins and one tie in its previous six matches at the Turley Athletic Complex and looked to finish off the home schedule without a loss. Instead, the Knights handed the Tritons a tough loss and knocked them out of first place in the conference standings in the process.
It was an unfortunate end to an exciting match that saw three equalizers in regulation, including one by
Antonio Alvarez in the final minute of regulation. The Tritons, pushing up in an attempt to tie the match, gained a corner kick that
Jordan Lee drove into the center of the box where Alvarez put it away to send the contest into overtime.
The goal was Alvarez's second of the night as he scored on another header in the 61st minute off another set piece as
Richard Ainscough sent in a free kick from deep on the left side. It gave Eckerd a 2-1 lead that turned out to be short-lived.
Lynn (6-2-2, 3-2-1) equalized the match in the 71st minute when James Casserly headed in a ball that was headed to him by Bruno Militz. Casserly then put the Knights back ahead in the 76th minute when Chris Hellmann's free kick found him at the left post, and Casserly quickly finished.
The Knights held the lead until Alvarez knotted the score as regulation drew to a close.
Lynn took a 1-0 lead into halftime on a Hellman goal that slid past EC keeper
Alex Gott. The Tritons equalized it early in the second half when a foul gave Eckerd a set piece from just outside the box on the right side, and Ainscough deftly curled the direct kick around the wall and inside the right post for his fifth goal of the season.
The loss was no doubt a bitter one for Eckerd's five seniors, who were honored before the match in their final regular season home contest - Ainscough,
Nick Jackson,
Adam Stephany,
Tolin Vaccaro and
Eduardo Juarez. The Tritons dropped into a tie for third place in the Sunshine State Conference standings with Lynn, two points behind Tampa and Rollins.
Eckerd returns to the field on Wednesday as the Tritons travel to face Florida Tech in a non-conference match at 7:00 PM. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw earlier in the season.
