Spartans Stifle Shark Attack

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Tampa (3-9-2, 3-3-1 SSC) men's soccer team faced Nova Southeastern University (4-10-1, 1-7 SSC) on Saturday night and walked away with its third Sunshine State Conference victory of the season.

Both teams were dormant for the first 39 minutes of the match until Tampa junior Dominic Cutrofello took a quick shot from close range that put the ball into the back of the Shark net. Freshman Andrew Clare and junior Brian Fekete each collected an assist.

The halftime whistle sounded and the Spartans were leading NSU with a score of 1-0.

Tampa extended their lead to two after being granted a penalty kick. Senior Ryan Griffin took the shot and beat the keeper for his 11th goal of the season.

Seven minutes later, Shark Simon Nett connected on a ball off a corner kick that made it past Tampa sophomore goalkeeper David Niepel and cut the Spartans' lead in half.

The remaining 30 minutes of the contest were scoreless for either side. UT defeated Nova Southeastern with the score of 2-1.

Each team recorded a total of 15 shots and Niepel tallied six saves in the 90 minute match.

Head coach Adrian Bush commented on the victory and said, "It was a great effort tonight against a tough Nova team. I'm really proud of this team as they have put themselves in a position to make the SSC tournament after a rough start to the year."

Bush continued on to state, "Credit goes to these players as they have never stopped working and believing in each other."

The Spartans will return to their home pitch, Pepin Stadium, to face SSC opponent Saint Leo University in UT's last regular season contest of 2011. The game will be on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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