Florida Tech Welcomes West Florida for Second Round of NCAA Tournament Saturday Night
By Florida Tech // November 23, 2019
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Rick Stottler Field
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech men’s soccer will look to keep its national championship dreams alive as the team faces off against the University of West Florida Argonauts in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship.
Kickoff is Saturday night at 7 p.m. on Rick Stottler Field.
This will be both teams’ first time in the NCAA tournament for a few seasons as the Panthers’ last trip was in 2016 and the Argos have not made it since 2013.
Florida Tech and West Florida each got off to strong starts in their respective seasons with both club recording seven-match win streaks to open the year.
The early-season success propelled both teams up the national poll and helped them sustain top-25 ranking throughout the year as Florida Tech finished No. 23 and West Florida was No. 16.
This showdown will feature two vaunted back lines as the Panthers are No. 21 in the country with a 0.718 goals against average, while the Argonauts boast the No. 12 defense allowing just 0.693 goals per game to its opponents.
The Crimson and Gray will also have to contend with West Florida’s prolific attack that’s No. 14 in the nation with 2.5 goals per match.
Both squads had success in their conference slates as Florida Tech tallied a 7-2-1 record in the Sunshine State Conference which earned them a second-place regular-season finish and a bye in the first round of the conference tournament.
On the other side, UWF went 6-1-3 in Gulf South Conference play and this landed them the third spot in the standings.
The aforementioned success lent itself to many individual accolades for both sides as they combined for 13 all-conference selections. Florida Tech had seven players awarded All-SSC honors, including three on the first team, three on the second team and one freshman of the year award.
West Florida had four first-team members on the All-GSC teams plus the Freshman of the Year and Defender of the Year for the league.
Tech and UWF are 3-1 against common opponents in 2019, with both earning wins over Saint Leo and Tampa out of the SSC. Florida Tech defeated Auburn-Montgomery early in the season but then fell to Rollins on conference play.
West Florida grabbed a 1-0 win over the Tars but was on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against AUM.
GAME INFO
Saturday’s NCAA Second Round match will take place at Rick Stottler Field on the campus of Florida Tech. Kickoff is Saturday night at 7 p.m. on Rick Stottler Field.
Tickets will be available either at the gate or can be purchased in advance at https://bit.ly/2QG4eiq. Admission to the game is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for seniors and children.
If you can’t make it to the match, you can access the live stream HERE as well as follow live stats at floridatechstats.com.
