Tampa Back in Win Column

TAMPA, Fla. – No. 4 University of Tampa responded in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon, defeating Montevallo 18-7 at Naimoli Stadium. The Spartans used a strong second-half surge to pull away and improve to 8-1 on the season.

How It Happened

Tampa struck first just 30 seconds into the contest when Justin Conly finished a feed from Aaron Cho to give the Spartans an early 1-0 lead. Montevallo answered quickly, scoring three straight goals midway through the opening quarter to take a 3-1 advantage. Despite the early deficit, the Spartans settled in and began building momentum heading into the second frame. The Spartans ignited their offense early in the second quarter. Cho sparked the rally with an unassisted goal before Tommy Ortega tied the game at 3-3 on a pass from Grant Green. After Montevallo briefly reclaimed the lead on a man-up opportunity, Tampa erupted offensively. Eric Burbank converted a defensive-to-offensive transition opportunity off a feed from Cho to tie the game again, and Cho followed with back-to-back goals to give Tampa a 6-4 lead. Montevallo trimmed the deficit to one late in the half, but Tampa carried a 6-5 advantage into the break.

The Spartans took full control in the third quarter, delivering their most explosive period of the afternoon. Tampa scored seven goals in the frame, highlighted by four goals from Burbank and strikes from Rex Kesselring, Green, and Rafe Bradshaw. The scoring burst pushed Tampa's lead to 13-6 heading into the final quarter.

Montevallo opened the fourth quarter with a man-up goal, but Tampa quickly shut the door. Ortega sparked another scoring run with an unassisted tally before Green added his second goal of the game.

Late goals from Jacob Pages, Matthew Vara, and Jack Spears capped the dominant performance as the Spartans secured the 18-7 victory.

Spartan Performances

• Burbank led the Spartans with a standout performance, recording five goals on the afternoon.
• Cho fueled Tampa's offense with three goals and three assists, while Ortega contributed two goals and one assist.
• Green added two goals and one assist, while Kesselring, Vara,Bradsha, Pages,Conly, and, Spears each found the back of the net.
• At the faceoff X, Tampa controlled possession throughout the game, winning 19 of 26 draws, led by MP Thomas (9-12) and Gage Bachman (7-9).
• Defensively, the Spartans collected 38 ground balls and limited Montevallo to just 16 shots on goal.
• Westin Schmidt earned the win in goal with seven saves, while Kyle Rolley added two saves in relief.

Up Next

Tampa will look to carry its momentum into its next matchup tomorrow versus No. 10 Colordao Mesa at 12:00 p.m. at home.