Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After enjoying a blowout victory in its season opener on Saturday, the Eckerd men's soccer team found itself in a much tighter battle on Wednesday night against Webber International (Fla.) University.
In fact, it took two late goals by
Juan David Tejada to finally put away the Warriors, 2-1, and stay perfect on the young season.
The Tritons (2-0) saw some good chances narrowly miss the frame early in both halves, including a close-range attempt by
Westleigh Rush that was deflected off the fingertips of WIU keeper Randy Chesson and off the post.
The Warriors (0-2-1) also suffered from missed opportunities, most notably a pair of shots in the second half by Noel Francis that ricocheted off the crossbar.
The stalemate was finally broken in the 79th minute by Webber's Ross Clarke. A Warrior corner kick was cleared out of the box but landed at the feet of Clarke nearly 40 yards out. He quickly lofted the ball toward the goal, where it narrowly evaded the hands of
Alex Gott and went into the net.
One of Francis's near misses followed soon afterward when another deflection came to him unmarked inside the 18-yard box but his quick strike hit the bar.
That missed opportunity came back to haunt Webber.
Moments later, Tejada equalized the match with the first of his two goals. The sophomore took the ball near midfield on the left side, dribbled down into the center at the top of the box and ripped a shot that beat Chesson to the right post.
It took only two minutes for Tejada to strike again with what turned out the be the game-winner.
Eckerd's
Mo Jallow quickly won back possession of the ball, eventually leading to a cross from near the right corner by
Wyeth Leemon. Tejada worked his way in front of his defender at the left post and headed the ball past Chesson for his second brace in as many matches.
The Triton defense then kept WIU from getting any clear opportunities the rest of the way.
EC head coach
Ian Cameron had it a bit more stressful than his opener on Saturday, but was able to utilize the team's depth to its advantage.
"Coach Cockburn and his players brought great energy and passion this evening and probably deserved something more from the game," he said. "I was pleased to see a lot of our younger players compete and raise the level of intensity when they were introduced at different periods in the match, which proves we have some depth that will be called upon throughout the year."
And, although Cameron sees a need to continue to work on certain areas of the game, coming away with a win always helps.
"In the end, the players found a way to win the game," he said, "and against an extremely spirited team that is not always easy. We move on with a bad taste in our mouth relating to a few phases of the match but with the belief we are growing as a team."
Eckerd returns to the field on Friday for the third of a five-match home stand, hosting the University of North Georgia at 7:00 PM.
