Late Surge Comes Up Short as Tritons Drop Opener to Auburn-Montgomery

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A late flurry was promising for the Eckerd women's soccer team in its season opener but wasn't enough to erase an early deficit as the Tritons fell to Auburn-Montgomery on Thursday evening at Johnson Field, 4-2.

The Warhawks struck twice in the first half for a 2-0 lead, then tallied two more goals early in the second half.  The Tritons battled back to slice the deficit in half but were unable to pull closer before time expired.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: AUM 4, Eckerd 2
Records: AUM 1-0, Eckerd 0-1
All-Time Series: Tied, 1-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eckerd pushed the ball ahead in the early minutes before Auburn-Montgomery began to control the run of play.  The Warhawks finally broke through in the 26th minute on a goal by Ruby Mendez after winning a ball at midfield and dribbling free to beat EC's Casey Winn to the right post.
- Mendez struck again in the 34th minute, again collecting a loose ball and this time converting from distance over the head of Winn for a 2-0 lead.  Mendez came close to making it a first-half hat trick in the 42nd minute, but her near-point blank attempt was turned back by a fantastic save from Winn.
- AUM widened its margin early in the second half on goals by Marie Stober in the 52nd minute and Fabiana Alborghetti in the 55th minute.
- Soon after, the Tritons found a burst of energy spearheaded by senior Abby Sanchez.  Sanchez's aggression paid off in the 57th minute when she took a pass from Marie Zeidler inside the box and lofted a shot into the upper-left corner.
- Eckerd added another goal in the 69th minute after Haley Knowles slid a pass through the defense to Stephanie Linton, who touched the ball past her defender and beat AUM's Felicia Wester to the left post.
- EC had a chance to cut the deficit down to one goal moments later on a quality chance by Lauren Yudin but her strike sailed over the crossbar.  AUM then slowed the pace and kept the Tritons from attempting another shot in the final 18 minutes.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- After being outshot in the first half, 13-7, Eckerd played evenly with AUM in the second half.  The Tritons had numerous quality opportunities in the final 50 minutes but narrowly missed the frame on several occasions.
- The Tritons did create more chances off corner kicks than did AUM, taking six to their two.

NOTABLE
- Sanchez's goal was the fourth of her career.  It marked the second year in a row for a senior to net the team's first goal of the season.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Casey Winn stopped nine shots in the loss.  It was the third-highest number of saves she's posted in a game during her career.
- Linton is the first Triton freshman to score a goal in a season-opening match since Hannah Peterson in 2014.  She led the team with five shots in her debut.

UP NEXT
- It's a very short turnaround for Eckerd, which travels to St. Augustine for a 7:30 PM match on Friday with Flagler (Fla.) College.  The contest will serve as Flagler's season opener.