ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons men's soccer team will begin a stretch of four straight games at home on Tuesday, Sept. 9 when they host the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans.
Eckerd will play in its home opener after a 1-1 trip to North Carolina over the weekend, falling to Barton by a score of 3-2 before defeating Mount Olive on Sunday by a final of 2-1. In the win on Sunday, the Tritons put the pressure on early with five shots in the opening 15 minutes, seeing one find the back of the net off the foot ofÂ
Aaron Ristorcelli just 12 minutes in. The pace slowed down the rest of the half, with the two teams combining for three total shots in the final 30 minutes of action. Eckerd held a 1-0 lead at the break.
After fending off three Mount Olive shots early in the second half, the Tritons added on to their lead in the 54th minute after
Marcio Costa took a pass form Ristorcelli and sent the ball into the goal. The Trojans continued to get off looks, posting nine shots in the second half alone, and eventually notched a score with under three minutes to go. Eckerd did not allow another look and held on for the 2-1 victory.Â
Duran Van Woerkom saved three shots in net for the Tritons, including two in the second half. Costa and Ristorcelli combined for seven shots and accounted for both goals.
New College of Florida enters Tuesday with an overall record of 2-0, recently defeating Florida Memorial in its most recent outing this past Saturday by a score of 4-0. NCF scored once in the first half before erupting for three goals in the final 45 minutes. It was the Mighty Banyans' first game since August 21 after seeing their last two contests canceled. New College has not allowed a goal this season and has out-scored its opponents this season, 7-0. The Might Banyans have already matched last season's win total after going 2-10-3 in 2024.Â
Tuesday will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.Â
Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
