Spartans Wear Down Moccasins

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (2-6-1, 2-2 SSC) men's soccer team defeated Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Southern College (4-6, 1-4 SSC) in regulation time on Wednesday night. The win is the Spartans' second on the season and in the SSC.

Tampa's offense struck first. Senior Ryan Griffin was able to capitalize on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute of the match to put the Spartans up by one. The goal was Griffin's fourth of the season, allowing him to reclaim his title as the lone leading goal-scorer of the team.

Nine minutes later, Griffin found the back of the net once again after retrieving the ball from fellow senior David Gulec. The goal marked Griffin's fifth and Gulec collected his first assist of 2011. By the end of the first half, Tampa was leading with a score of 2-0.

Seven minutes into the second period, Florida Southern's Zach Hofstetter put one passed UT's sophomore goalkeeper David Niepel for the Mocs' first goal of the match.

The Spartans responded in the 77th minute after a pass from Griffin to the foot of junior Brian Fekete. Fekete boasted a hard shot landing the ball in the right corner of the net. The Spartans were up 3-1 on FSC.

The Mocs could not produce another goal but were given several chances. Niepel had five saves total, four in the second half alone. Florida Southern's goalkeeper, Andres Guzman, totaled six saves in the contest.

After the game, Spartan head coach Adrian Bush said, "I felt we came out a little flat tonight riding the emotions of last Saturday's win. This was an important game for us as we all know how huge this week is for our program."

The Spartans return to their home pitch on Saturday night to face yet another conference rival Barry University in an anticipated match-up. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. at Pepin Stadium.

Bush stated, "Now it's time to turn everything we've got towards Barry University. That's the only game that matters because it is our next match. We will be ready."

Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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