Spartans Keep Streak Alive with Late Surge Past Wildcats

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Spartans defeated the Wilmington Wildcats Friday afternoon in an action packed contest at Naimoli Family Athletic Complex. After the dust had settled, the final score was 17-16 with UT's Shannon Sweeney scoring the game-winning goal with just 1:23 left on the clock.

Following the victory the Spartans improve to 3-3 on the year and extends its win streak to three. Headed in the opposite direction, the Wildcats drop to 1-3 on the year and are on a two-game losing streak.

The Tampa attack was led by Emilie Barbosa, who netted four goals along with an assist. Shannon Sweeney also recorded three goals of her own including the game winner. Also scoring two goals for the Spartans was midfielder Amanda Rom. She was an important part of Tampa's efforts notching two assists, two caused turnovers, three groundballs, and five draw controls.

The game was a back and forth affair with the Wilmington striking first just 16 seconds in to the match. Shannon Sweeney tied the game for Tampa off an Amanda Rom assist minutes later. Both sides traded scores throughout the first period until the Wildcats pulled away with two late goals in the final minute of the half to take an 11-8 lead.

Second half action picked up where the first left off with tons of scoring. Coach Gallagher's team came out determined in the second half outscoring Wilmington 9-5. But the Spartans attack was relentless and eventually was too much for the Wildcats to handle.

The UT defense also made several key stops, including several saves by Wylie Cassidy off the free position shots from WU's Sara Lubron and Maddie Hewitt. Tampa recorded 13 groundballs on the day along with a clearance rate of .454 on the day.

Tampa will be back in action on Sunday, as they welcome Queens College N.C. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Live stats, and broadcast will be available fans to follow along and be found on tampaspartans.tv

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