Tampa Dominant in Victory Over Maryville

TAMPA, Fla. – No. 2 University of Tampa delivered a dominant performance on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 5 Maryville University, 14-3, at Naimoli Stadium to remain unbeaten on the season.

With the victory, Tampa improves to 7-0 overall while handing Maryville just its first loss of the year.

How It Happened

Tampa set the tone from the opening faceoff, controlling possession and applying early offensive pressure. Tommy Ortega opened the scoring at the 13:43 mark of the first quarter to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

Just over two minutes later, Connor McDonough capitalized on a crisp offensive set, taking a pass from Rex Kesselring and burying a shot at 11:21 to double the advantage. The Spartans continued to dictate tempo, and Ortega struck again at 8:06, finishing off a well-timed feed from Grant Green to push the margin to 3-0.

Kesselring extended the lead to 4-0 at 6:04 with an unassisted goal after forcing a turnover and converting in transition. Maryville responded at 4:34 with a goal from Wyatt Robertson, trimming the deficit to 4-1. Still, Tampa's defense clamped down over the final minutes to carry the three-goal cushion into the second quarter.

The Spartans' depth and discipline were on full display in the second frame. Ortega completed his hat trick at 8:06, once again scoring unassisted after creating separation at the top of the box. Following a Maryville offside penalty, Justin Conly made the Saints pay on the man-up opportunity at 2:30, ripping home an unassisted strike to make it 6-1.

Tampa continued to build momentum late in the half. At 1:06, Kesselring finished his second goal of the contest off a sharp assist from Zack Friend. With time winding down, the Spartans executed a clean offensive possession that ended with Jackson Bashaw finishing an Aaron Cho feed with just 13 seconds remaining, sending Tampa into halftime with a commanding 8-1 lead.

The third quarter belonged entirely to the Spartans. Cho opened the scoring in the period at 6:05 with an unassisted goal, stretching the lead to 9-1. Less than a minute later, McDonough struck again at 5:04 off another assist from Friend, capitalizing on Tampa's sustained offensive pressure.

Green joined the scoring column at 4:17, converting a pass from Cho to make it 11-1. Friend capped a four-goal run in a span of less than three minutes, scoring unassisted at 3:22 as Tampa entered the fourth quarter firmly in control, 12-1.

Tampa added two more goals in the final frame, including a man-up tally from Eric Burbank at 11:23 off a Conly assist after a Maryville slashing penalty. Bashaw netted his second goal of the game at 6:05 with an unassisted finish to push the lead to 14-2.

Maryville added a pair of late goals, including a man-up score at 2:24, but the outcome was never in doubt as the Spartans secured the 14-3 victory.

Spartan Performances

• Ortega led the offensive effort with a hat trick, finishing with three goals on seven shots.
• McDonough and Kesselring each recorded two goals, while Jackson Bashaw added two scores of his own.
• Friend contributed across the board with one goal and two assists, and Cho tallied one goal and two assists in the win.
• At the faceoff X, MP Thomas was dominant, winning 12 of 17 draws to help Tampa control possession.
• The Spartans held a 43-21 advantage in ground balls, led by Conley Stone with four and Kesselring with three.
• Defensively, Desi Arrup caused a turnover and collected three ground balls, while the unit limited Maryville to just one goal over the first three quarters.
• In goal, Westin Schmidt improved to 7-0 on the season, recording 12 saves while allowing just three goals in 57:36 of action.
• Ryan Kaplan closed out the final 2:24 in relief.

Up Next

The Spartans will look to keep their perfect record intact as they travel to Anderson (S.C.) for a game on March 7 at 12:00 p.m.