ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The patience of the Eckerd women's soccer team paid off as the Tritons defeated Saint Leo, 1-0, on a late goal by
Stephanie Linton on Wednesday at Johnson Field.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 1, Saint Leo 0
Records: Eckerd (3-5, 2-3 SSC); Saint Leo 2-5 (1-4 SSC)
All-Time Series: Saint Leo leads, 14-5-1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- * Eckerd came out aggressively to start the game, rifling off five shots in the first 25 minutes. However, the Tritons had trouble converting those shots. Paula Astiazaran nearly scored in the 23rd minute as did Linton in the 25th minute but both times Saint Leo keeper Megan Charlton made impressive saves at close range.
* Eckerd's best chance to finally net a goal came in the 56th minute off
Paula Astiazaran's free kick from just outside the 18. Astiazaran fired off a hard shot but sent the ball right at Charlton.
* Starting in the 70th minute, Eckerd pushed the ball into the attacking third and nearly came up with a goal three times.
Abby Sanchez narrowly missed on shots in the 71st and 75th minutes. Eckerd also came close in the 74th minute again as Linton fired another shot, but it was blocked.
* The late push finally paid off for Eckerd in the 78th minute. The Tritons sent a ball into the box, where the pass was headed backward by a Lion defender. Sanchez put herself in the right spot and quickly sent a header inside the six-yard box when Linton took the pass off the stomach and sent the ball to the back of the net.
* The Tritons maintained possession for the remainder of the game, not allowing Saint Leo take another shot to preserve the win.
NOTABLE
* Eckerd out-shot Saint Leo, 14-6, while also leading in shots on goal, 8-4.
* Eckerd's win over Saint Leo was the first win over the Lions since 2012.
* Linton's goal marked her seventh goal of the season, topping the conference.
*
Casey Winn stopped four shots to record her first full clean sheet of the season. She earned a partial clean sheet in EC's 6-0 win over Spring Hill (Ala.) in September.
UP NEXT
Eckerd now enters its bye weekend and will return to action next Wednesday at Rollins for a 7:00 PM start.
