Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The women's soccer team needed a big result tonight against No. 16 Rollins College and it did not disappoint.
Eckerd (5-5-1, 1-2-1 SSC) came away with a much-needed point in conference play against a nationally-ranked Rollins (7-1-1, 3-0-1) squad with a 1-1 draw. Despite two 10-minute overtime periods, neither team could break the stalemate.
"I'm really happy with this result tonight," head coach Danielle Fotopoulos said. "Getting a point against a highly ranked team can make a difference for us in conference down the road."
After a scoreless first half and 8-1 shot count in favor of the Tars, the Tritons were not quite ready to call it a night. Seven minutes into the second half, freshman Olivia Ross-Johnson found the feet of a composed Kayla Gray at the top of the 18. Gray turned, breaking free of her defender, and placed the shot in the bottom right-side netting for the first goal of the match and her third goal of the season.
"Scoring first was big for us," Fotopoulos said. "It gave us confidence and showed that we are able to compete against top-ranked teams."
Both teams continued to battle, piling on 25 combined shots in the second half. The Tritons held a one-goal lead until the 84th minute when Rollins' Sarah Buckley finished in similar fashion to the match's earlier goal. From inside the 18, Buckley received the ball, turned and beat Casey Winn off her line for the equalizer.
Despite a late push by the Tars, neither team could break the tie forcing the match to overtime. Both overtime periods were played out without any threatening chances for either team.
Rollins has yet to lose in conference and only has one loss on the season, making tonight's draw an important one for the Tritons.
"I keep telling the team that we haven't peaked yet," Fotopoulos said. "We are still getting better and building as a team and I think that's good for us going forward."
Eckerd hits the road on Monday, October 3 in a non-conference matchup against Webber International (Fla.) at 3:00 p.m. Sunshine State Conference play resumes on Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m. with a home match against Barry University.
