ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Trtitons men's soccer team was defeated in a thrilling battle with the visiting No. 13 ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks on Saturday, falling by a score of 3-2.
In a physical opening half, the Tritons endured the first six shots of the game coming from the visitors, with the sixth attempt accounting for the first score for either team in the 23rd minute. The 1-0 lead for Nova remained intact until the final minute of the period, but a converted penalty kick from
Marcio Costa evened the game at 1-1 with just under 60 seconds showing on the clock. Moments later, the Tritons struck again, this time seeing a ball hit the back of the net with just one second remaining after
Robert Thorarinsson took advantage of an opportunity created by
Gavin Spuler. Eckerd led 2-1 after 45 minutes of action.
Both teams picked up the pressure offensively in the second half as each totaled six shots apiece. The Sharks pulled even on a successful penalty kick of their own in the 67th minute before collecting the game-winning tally just over 20 minutes later in the 88th minute. Eckerd did not see a shot attempt in the final 13 minutes of action, but saw one final look at the net in the remaining seconds as the ball went just out of bounds outside the goal on a cross attempt.
As a team, the Tritons totaled 10 shots, with half on the mark. Costa and Spuler led the way with three shots apiece, while
Duran Van Woerkom stopped three looks in net.
With the loss, Eckerd drops to 2-4-2 overall and 0-2 in SSC action. The team will be back in action Wednesday at Florida Southern.
