Spartans Power Past Concordia in Double-Digit Victory

TAMPA, Fla. – No. 2 Tampa Spartans continued their winning ways, securing a commanding 17-7 home victory over Concordia University Irvine on Wednesday night at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex.

How It Happened

• Tampa wasted no time as Mitch Cummings opened the scoring at the 13:41 mark of the first quarter off an assist from Aaron Cho. 

• Jackson Bashaw quickly doubled the lead just over a minute later, scoring unassisted to make it 2-0.   

• The Spartans' surge continued when Bashaw found the back of the net again at 11:15, this time assisted by Justin Conly.  

• Cummings added his second goal of the frame at 9:15, followed by a strike from Zach Johnson at 7:51 to push the lead to 5-0.  

• Rex Kesselring closed out a dominant first quarter for the Spartans, scoring at the 5:58 mark to give Tampa a 6-0 cushion.   

• The second quarter saw a defensive shift, with Concordia getting on the board at 11:29 to cut the lead to 6-1.  

• Tampa responded late in the half as Kesselring converted his second goal of the night off a Grant Green assist with 1:33 remaining.

• Cho extended the lead further just before the break, scoring with 44 seconds left to give Tampa an 8-1 advantage at halftime. 

• The Spartans kept the pressure on in the third, with Bashaw completing his hat trick at 12:47 off another feed from Conly.  

• Eric Burbank joined the scoring column at 11:39, and Connor McDonough added a goal at 6:49 to stretch the margin to 11-1.  

• After CUI trimmed the lead to 11-3, Cho restored the momentum with an unassisted goal at 2:04, capping a 12-3 Spartan lead heading into the final frame. 

• Tampa's depth was on display in the fourth quarter as Rafe Bradshaw, Braden Welsh, and Conley Stone each found the back of the net to seal the 17-7 victory.

Spartan Performances

• Jackson Bashaw led the scoring effort with a hat trick, netting three goals on six shots.

• Aaron Cho and Mitch Cummings each contributed two goals to the Spartans' offensive surge.

• Rex Kesselring also notched two goals and was active on the field with two ground balls.

• The scoring was well-distributed, with Eric Burbank, Zach Johnson, Connor McDonough, and Braden Welsh among the ten different Spartans who found the back of the net.

• Justin Conly played a key role as a facilitator, leading the team with three assists.

• Defensively, Desi Arrup anchored the unit with two caused turnovers and a ground ball.

• In net, Westin Schmidt earned the win, recording eight saves while allowing only three goals in his 45 minutes of action. Kyle Rolley and Charlie Villa both saw time in relief to preserve the win.

• Coach J.B. Clarke earned is 400th career victory.

Up Next: The Spartans look to extend their five-game winning streak as they return to home action this Saturday, February 28, to host No. 5 Maryville at 12:00 p.m.