ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – With the end of the regular season for soccer, Eckerd has a slower week of completion. Women's soccer will be at home hosting the first round of the SSC tournament, marking the first time Eckerd has hosted a conference tournament contest. Volleyball will continue conference play at home over the weekend. Finally, women's basketball and men's golf will also be in action this week.
Men's Golf
Monday/Tuesday: McDonough Cup | Rio Pinar Golf Course | Orlando, Fla. | Live Stats
* Eckerd will travel to Orlando to play in the McDonough Cup at the Rio Pinar Golf Course Monday and Tuesday. The Tritons last played three weeks ago placing 12th at the GolfRank Invitational.
Justin Ayanian led Eckerd as he shot one over par in the opening round and finished tied for 48th place.
Women's Soccer
Tuesday: vs Tampa | 7:00 PM | Johnson Field | Live Stats | Live Video
SSC Championship Bracket | Championship Central
* Eckerd (6-7, 5-5 SSC) will host Tampa on Halloween for the opening round of the SSC conference tournament. The Tritons enter the postseason coming off a 3-2 loss to Barry on Saturday. The Tritons finished the regular season with a fourth-place finish and are the No. 4 seed in the tournament. This is the first time Eckerd has hosted the opening round of the conference tournament and the team's first tournament appearance since 2014. If Eckerd advances, the Tritons will play at top-seeded Nova Southeastern in the semi-finals on Friday.
* The Eckerd offense is led by
Stephanie Linton (16 points),
Abby Sanchez (11), and
Paula Astiazaran (10). Linton is tied for second in the conference in goals (7) and points (16). Sanchez has netted three goals and five assists. Her five assists are tied for second in the conference. Astiazaran has netted four goals and dished out two assists, with two of her goals coming Saturday against Barry.
* The Eckerd defense led by
Casey Winn in goal and the back line of
Sophia Kopko,
Teagan Payne,
Haley Knowles, and
Katie Vitella. The defense has posted four clean sheets this season, three of which have come in conference. Winn has 75 saves, third-best in the conference.
* Tampa (7-6-2, 4-5-1 SSC) is coming off a loss to Nova Southeastern and a draw against Saint Leo last week giving them a fifth-place finish in the conference. Nastasia Asgedom and Erika Peitersen lead the Spartans offense with three goals apiece, while Asgedom has also added two assists.
* Eckerd hosted Tampa in the regular season on September 20 narrowly falling to the Spartans, 1-0. The lone goal of the game came in the 51st minute with a fortunate bounce off the frame. Alexa Sheridan lofted a ball to the left post, hitting the lower portion of the crossbar and bouncing into the goal.
Women's Basketball
Friday (Exhibition): vs Costa Rica National Team | 3:00 PM | McArthur Center | Live Stats
* Eckerd will host the Costa Rican National Team on Friday for an exhibition game at 3:00 before opening the season on November 10.
* Coming off the best season in program history, Eckerd is picked to place fourth in the conference preseason coaches' poll. Eckerd returns two all-conference performers in
Kacie Juday and
Ada Yalcin. Juday was the team's second-leading scorer averaging 11.8 points per game as well as 6.5 rebounds per game last season. Yalcin led the team in assist last season with 3.9 while also averaging 7.1 points per game.
Volleyball
Friday: vs Barry | 7:00 PM | McArthur Center | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday: vs Nova Southeastern | 4:00 PM | McArthur Center | Live Stats | Live Video
* Eckerd (12-9, 5-8 SSC) is coming off a 1-2 week after beating Rollins and narrowly losing to No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic in five sets. The Tritons will host Barry on Friday and Nova Southeastern on Saturday.
*
Paula Hoffmann leads the Triton offense with 272 kills. Hoffmann averages 3.73 kills per set, which is fifth in the conference. She recorded 53 kills in three matches last week while posting double-doubles in both matches over the weekend. Behind Hoffmann lies a balanced attack of
Stephanie Karlovics (129 kills),
Mackenzie Redner (123),
Abbie O'Ferrell (115), and
Kali Boatwright (106).
* Eckerd leads the conference in service aces posting 135 aces as a team.
Arielle Erillo,
Fernanda Reis, and
Kaitlyn Sibson lead Eckerd behind the line with 34, 29, and 25 aces respectively while Erillo tops the conference.
* Sibson also paces Eckerd's defense with 418 digs averaging 5.29 per set, second-best in the conference.
* Barry (9-9, 5-8 SSC) enters the match off a 1-2 week with losses to Lynn and Embry-Riddle and a win over Florida Tech. The Bucs are led by Kristina Filimonova and Jaeda Allen with 196 and 195 kills respectively. Fillimonova also averages 1.13 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the conference.
* Nova Southeastern (5-14, 3-9 SSC) split its matches last weekend with a loss to Florida Tech and win over Embry-Riddle. The Sharks will play Lynn and Saint Leo before facing the Tritons. The Sharks are led by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer with 344 kills, whose 4.99 kills-per-set average leads the conference. Megan Burns leads the defense with 353 digs at 4.90 digs per set, third-best in the conference.
* Eckerd defeated both Nova Southeastern and Barry on the road earlier this season. The Tritons topped the Sharks, 3-1, as Boatwright (15 kills, 15 digs) and Hoffmann (13 kills, 12 digs) both had double-doubles in the match. Eckerd swept Barry, 3-0, while recording a program record 17 aces. Erillo (5), Boatwright (4), and Reis (3) led the team at the service line, while Hoffmann recorded 16 kills.
