Spartans Set for Pair of Road Tests to Start Season

MORROW, Ga. - The No. 20 University of Tampa men's soccer team will open its 2013 season with a pair of games away from home during the opening weekend.

After advancing to the NCAA tournament last season, Tampa will kick off the season on Thursday at Clayton State in a 7:30 p.m., match. The Spartans will then meet Coker College on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., in a game at Clayton State. Both opponents are NCAA Division II institutions that are regional contests.

Head coach Adrian Bush returns seven starters from last season's team that finished 10-6-1 and enjoyed a top-25 ranking in the final poll. A total of 12 letterwinners have returned with the Spartans in search of another double figure win total.

All-American and Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year Tyler Blackwood is back for his junior season after scoring 11 goals with two assists last season. Defender Andrew Clare is also back and joined Blackwood and two others as the lone Spartans to start all 17 games in the field.

Senior goalkeeper David Niepel is coming off a season where he tallied four shutouts and turned away 57 shots. He ended the year with a 1.17 GAA. Niepel brings a load of experience as he has 48 games played in his career, sporting a 1.23 GAA with 172 saves. He ranks in the program's top-10 in wins, saves, minutes and games played.

Tampa is 4-2 in the all-time series with Clayton State as the Spartans came away with a 3-0 win over the then-No. 18 Lakers last season. Tampa and Coker are set to meet for the first time.

Fans may follow live stats and watch the Clayton State game by following the links on the Tampa men's soccer schedule on TampaSpartans.com.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.