Tritons Stay in Postseason Hunt with Draw at Rollins

WINTER PARK, Fla. - The Eckerd men's soccer team kept its postseason hopes alive with a 2-2 draw against conference opponent Rollins College on Tuesday night.

Both teams entered the night competing for a spot in the Sunshine State Conference tournament. A win would have put Eckerd (7-4-3, 3-3-2 SSC) in a good position to earn a bid to the SSC post-season, though the Tritons are certainly not out of contention as the team sits in fifth place with one match remaining.

"The lads showed terrific resolve tonight to get what they deserved out of the match," Eckerd head coach Ian Cameron said. "Rollins also played with great spirit and should be commended for their part in a classic crunch-time college soccer game."

Eckerd took an early lead tonight with a goal by Juan David Tejada in the sixth minute of play off an assist from Robert Labus. Rollins (7-6-2, 3-4-2 SSC), however, answered quickly to level the score off a header by Ben Grant. Both teams continued to push forward offensively, ending the half with an 11-9 shot count in favor of the Tritons.

The Tars dominated the early minutes of the second half, firing off two dangerous shots and earning two corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the half.

Eckerd soon settled into its signature style of combination play, creating more opportunities offensively and controlling the pace of play. 

In the 77th minute, Rollins took its first lead of the night on a breakaway. The ball was slotted out to Cyrus Siminou down the right wing who sent a high-flying shot over the hands of goalkeeper Alex Gott and into the top left corner of the net. 

Just two minutes later, Rollins was awarded a penalty kick. Facing the possibility of falling behind the Tars by two, Gott came up with a crucial save to keep the Tritons in the match.

With the pressure of a win mounting for both teams, tempers flared resulting in a red card ejection for Rollins with less than five minutes to play.

Eckerd's final efforts in the 88th minute proved to be enough for the equalizing goal. After a give-and-go inside the 18-yard box, Moritz Hannemann found the back of the net and recorded his fifth goal of the season.

The late goal by the Tritons forced the match to overtime, though neither team had success in extra time. Eckerd outshot the Tars, 27-21, while the match saw six cautions and two red cards. 

The Tritons wrap up the regular season on Thursday at Barry.  A win will clinch a spot in the SSC Tournament for Eckerd, though the Tritons can still advance in certain scenarios with a tie.