ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd women's soccer team was eliminated from the SSC Tournament on Monday, playing to a 1-1 draw with the Rollins Tars, but falling in a shootout by a score of 4-3.
Playing in their first home postseason game since 2017, the Tritons struck quickly four minutes into the contest with a goal by
Freija Aflenzer on an assist by
Olivia Ozbolt. Rollins found the equalizer in the 28th minute to make it a 1-1 score entering halftime. The two teams combined for nine shots in the first 45 minutes of play, with the Tritons holding a slight 5-4 advantage in that category. All nine shots taken between the two teams were on target.
Aflenzer accounted for the first attempt of the second half, but Eckerd was met by five shots in a row by Rollins, two of which were saved by keeper
Madi Winn. Aflenzer and
Natalie Rudman both fired off shots off target within eight minutes of each other to round out the three looks for the team in the second. Winn had three more saves in the half, with the final coming in the 86th minute to keep the game tied and force overtime. The Tars out-shot the Tritons 5-1 across the two overtime periods, with Eckerd's one attempt resulting in a save off the foot of
Amy Woodhead. The 1-1 score remained intact to force a penalty kick shootout.
Both teams made their first two attempts, with Eckerd seeing successful tries from both
Jasmine Gallo and
Anaya Thomas. Each goalie made a save on the third shots and both the Tars and Tritons connected on the fourth. Rollins won the shootout with a goal on the fifth try, while Eckerd's look went high to end the game.
With the draw, the Tritons end the season 7-5-5 overall.
