WILSON, N.C. -- The Eckerd Tritons men's soccer team will venture to the state of North Carolina for a pair of games over the weekend to kick off its 2025 campaign. Eckerd will visit the Barton Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 5 before taking on the Mount Olive Trojans two days later.
The Tritons enter the year following a 4-11-1 mark in 2024. Eckerd closed the season with momentum, winning three of its final five regular season contests to propel them into the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, where they ended they year with a loss to Lynn, the eventual national champion.
Daniel Freire, who appeared in all 16 games and started 14, is the top scorer returning for the Tritons, while
Robert Thorarinsson and
Thomas Jenkinson are also back after starting every game they played in last season.
Eckerd's first opponent will be Barton on Friday, who ended it 2024 slate with a 7-5-2 record, which included a 3-3-2 mark on its home field. The Bulldogs went without a win in six of their final seven contests to close out the season and saw the year end with a 2-0 loss to Belmont Abbey in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Friday will be the first-ever meeting between Eckerd and Barton.
On Sunday, the Tritons will take on Mount Olive on the road. The Trojans were 4-7-5 in 2024 with three of their four wins coming on their home field. Despite dropping its last two regular season contests, Mount Olive qualified for the Conference Carolinas Tournament and moved on following a 4-2 decision in penalty kicks over Emmanuel. The team saw its season come to an end after dropping 1-0 game to Francis Marion. The Trojans open the 2025 campaign on Friday against fellow SSC foe Florida Southern.
Start time for Friday's contest will begin at 5 p.m., with Sunday's set to take place at 1 p.m.
Live video and stat links can be found
here.
