Spartans End Regular Season in Noble Fashion

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's soccer team (10-4-1) defeated the Saint Leo University Lions (6-8) in the Spartans final regular season game of the 2012 season. The match also marked senior night for five Tampa Spartans.

"This was a special night for those five seniors and it was great to see them play such key roles tonight," says head coach Adrian Bush. "This is a fantastic group of guys, one of the best teams I have been a part of."

The Spartans dominated the first half by scoring three unanswered goals. The first came off the foot of freshman Spartan Naysir Rodriguez at the 13th minute mark. The goal was Rodriguez's first of the season as Alex Knaggs collected the assist on the play.

Eight minutes later, a trio of seniors struck again for the Spartans. Brian Fekete fed the ball to Dominic Goncalves who crossed the ball to defender Matt Noble. Noble was able to defeat the Lion keeper for his first collegiate goal.

In the 32nd minute, two of the seniors continued their strong offensive run. Goncalves connected with Noble once again on a cross from the opposite side of the field. Noble knocked in the third straight Spartan goal of the match and his second of his career.

The Spartans continued their scoring success into the second half with goals by Joshua Freese and Samoda Johnson. It was Freese's third goal of the season and Johnson's second. The Spartans outscored the Lions by 15 shots to four in the remainder of the game.

David Niepel kept the Spartan's net free of goals for the first 70 minutes of the game. Alberto Orozco finished off the game in the net for the Spartans allowing no shots on goal.

"To end the year with two five-goal games against SSC opponents is very hard to do," states Bush. "It says a lot about where we have come as a team, I'm proud of them. Now its time to gear our focus on the SSC tournament next week."

After receiving a bye in the quarter final of the Sunshine State Conference tournament, the Spartans will be playing on November 2. Stay tuned for more post season updates. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.

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