SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Eckerd men's soccer team received a pair of goals from Tommy Shepherd and Fredrik Heise in the final 20 minutes as part of a late surge to lead the Tritons past Saint Leo, 3-2, on a rain-soaked Wednesday night to open Sunshine State Conference play on the road.
Despite a combined 16 shots in the opening half, neither team could break through until Blane Sutton found the back of the net with two seconds remaining in the first half to give EC a 1-0 lead.
The Lions took a 2-1 lead early in the second half on a pair of goals by Miguel Fernandez. He found the back of the net in the 52nd minute on a penalty kick and again in the 60th minute.
Shepherd evened the score for Eckerd with a free kick just outside the 18 in the 71st minute. Heise followed with the game-winner 10 minutes later, with a sliding shot inside the left post.
SLU had one last threat to equalize in the 90th minute, but Lynden Dawson came up with a diving save to seal the game.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 3, Saint Leo 2
RECORDS: Eckerd 2-0-3 (1-0 SSC); Saint Leo 4-3 (0-2 SSC)
SCORING SUMMARY: EC- 45' Sutton (Blake Bauer), 71' Shepherd (unassisted), 81' Heise (Daniel Bloomfield, Bauer), SLU - 52' Fernandez (unassisted), 60' Fernandez (Sebastian Inigo)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Sutton recorded his second goal of the season and his second in as many games.
- Shepherd logged his fourth goal of the season and the seventh of his career. He has recorded 11 points over the last two games.
- Heise's goal was the first of his career.
- Bauer recorded a pair of assists. He now has three on the season.
- Bloomfield's assist was the first point of his career.
- Dawson, Frederik Klausen, Tommy Lamb, Lucas Berglund, and Adam Hill all played the full 90 minutes.
- Eckerd held a 16-15 edge in shots and 8-3 favor in shots on goal.
- The Tritons registered 11 shots in the opening half.
- EC held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns home to face Rollins on Saturday for a 7:00 PM kick-off.
