Spartans’ Comeback Comes Up Short

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (2-9-2) men's soccer team was defeated by No. 17 Flagler College (11-3-1) on Wednesday night despite its dominant offensive play in the second half.

Flagler controlled most of the first half beginning with a penalty kick opportunity given to the Saints. Will Frandsen took the shot in the 16th minute and put the ball past Tampa's sophomore goalkeeper David Niepel.

FC would go on to record two more goals in the first period, both by Joseph Toby.

UT was unsuccessful in producing any goals despite their six shots in the first 45 minutes.

Two minutes into the second period, Tampa senior Ryan Griffin would also capitalize on a penalty shot opportunity after junior Brian Fekete was fouled inside the box. Griffin's night would not end there.

Five minutes after the goal, Griffin fed the ball to freshman Cody Adams who fired a hard shot, bending the ball into the back corner of the Saints' net. The goal was Adams' first collegiate goal. Shortly after the goal, Adams left the pitch after cracking a rib but would still return to play in the final minutes.

The Spartans, who trailed by three goals going into the half, cut the Saints' lead to only one.

Flagler responded to the two Tampa goals after FC's Toby scored once more for his third of the night. Remarkably, this would not be the only hat trick of the match.

With Tampa down 4-2 in the 68th minute, Fekete passed the ball to Griffin who shot it past the Saints' goalkeeper and into the net.

Trailing by one again with 12 minutes remaining, senior Karl Swan tactically placed the ball into the box from the corner of the field. It found the head of Griffin who pushed it into the Saints' goal to level the contest at four. The goal was Griffin's third of the night and tenth of the season. The assist marked Swan's second.

Roughly one minute later, Flagler's Pol Berenguer scored what would end up being the last goal of the match. The scoreboard read 5-4 at the final whistle with Flagler on top.

"It's an absolutely heartbreaking loss and one of the toughest of my career," said Griffin, "We worked so hard to erase the 3-0 deficit at halftime and then to give up a fifth goal after tying it at four was just unacceptable, but it was a great comeback."

Head coach Adrian Bush echoed Griffin's comments by saying, "These guys showed a lot of heart tonight. To be down 3-0 at halftime and come back to tie it at four with 12 minutes remaining shows a lot of character."

With minutes to go in the match, a questionable call by the referee negated a ball shot by Griffin that went into the Saints' net which would have evened the match at five, giving the Spartans a better chance at a victory.

"That's soccer," said Griffin, "and we have to get our heads up and get ready for Nova."

The Tampa Spartans will travel to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday where they will look to prevail over fellow conference contender Nova Southeastern at 7 p.m.

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

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