Box Score LAKELAND – Joseph Ammer's rocket from the top right corner of the penalty box tied the game in the 65th minute, and Florida Southern got a brilliant defensive performance from a back line built on the fly in the second half as the Moccasins battled Eckerd to a 1-1 draw Wednesday night at Barnett Field.
SNIEGOSKI SAYS
"I'm very proud of the character the boys showed tonight. After going down 1-0 at the half, I believe we played our best soccer of the year the second half and had many great chances to win the game. We have a week off before we play Tampa and will that time to continue to improve every day."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eckerd (5-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 in the Sunshine State Conference) scored the first goal of the night in the 24th minute as Juan David Tejada delivered from inside the 6-yard box on a cross by Jordan Lee out of the left corner.
- Florida Southern (3-2-1, 1-1-1) held a 6-3 edge in shots midway through the first half before Eckerd finished with a 12-7 advantage at halftime. The second half saw the Mocs turn those numbers around completely as they out-shot the Tritons 15-4 and then 3-0 in overtime.
- The Moccasins played nearly the entire second half and overtime with a defensive line comprised of sophomore Luke Bromley, redshirt sophomore Daniel Moore, senior Alek Cosio-Altamirano and sophomore Nick Atwood. That group held the Tritons to only four shots over the final 65 minutes while the Moccasins took 18.
- Florida Southern tied the game at the 64:41 mark when senior Jonathan Radvogin sent the ball out of the right corner for Ammer near the top right corner of the 18-yard box, and the sophomore from Dornwang, Germany ripped a shot across the goal into the far netting. It was Ammer's third goal of the season.
- Ammer and Cosio-Altamirano each had a team-high four shots, and were two of the 10 Moccasins who had at least one shot in the game. Eckerd matched that number with 10 of its players also taking at least one shot.
- Overall the two teams combined for 41 shots, with 19 in each half and three (all by Florida Southern) in overtime. All three of the shots in extra time came in the final seven minutes with Ammer, Cosio-Altamirano and Edward Spansk taking them. Spanks's shot came with 2:29 remaining from outside the box and went over the crossbar, proving to be the final one taken.
- Spansk had seven goals and 16 points in his first two seasons, and returned to action Wednesday night after missing the first five games. Playing in a reserve role, he nearly scored moments after entering the game late in the first half. His re-directed header off a cross from Jacob Ling-Vannerus forced Eckerd goalkeeper Alex Gott into his first save of the night.
- Gott, who was last year's SSC Defensive Player-of-the-Year made three saves, and senior Cole Clingerman made five for Florida Southern.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Florida Southern and Eckerd have played each other seven times in the last six years with each side winning twice and three other games ending in a tie. They also played to a tie in their previous game at Barnett Field in 2014 (1-1) and had a scoreless draw in 2012.
- Prior to the last four years the teams had played to a tie only twice in their first 47 meetings.
- Seven of the last eight overtime games Florida Southern has played have ended in a tie. The only one that didn't was earlier this year at Mars Hill.
- The 25 shots were the most taken by Florida Southern since October 23, 2010 when had 27 in a 10-0 win over Ave Maria. The 41 combined shots were the most in a Florida Southern game since the Mocs combined with Barry for 45 in the 2013 SSC Tournament quarterfinals that also ended in a 1-1 tie.
- With his five saves against Eckerd, Clingerman now has 201 in his career, making him the eighth goalkeeper in team history to have at least 200. He's now tied for sixth on the Mocs' all-time list, moving one ahead of Kris Pahl (1982-85) and even with Bill Currie (1959-61). Clingerman is 11 behind fifth-place Clint Harris (2002-05).
UP NEXT
- The Moccasins will be off this weekend with a bye on their schedule before returning to action on Wednesday, September 28 at the University of Tampa. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
