Box Score
TAMPA â€" The University of Tampa came up a little bit short in its bid for a national championship last year, and with nine returning starters, the Spartans are among the favorites in 2009. Friday night against Florida Southern, they again showed why they’re a good bet to win it. Receiving goals from four different players and a shutout from All-American goalkeeper Ryan Thompson, the 3rd-ranked Spartans remained undefeated with a 4-0 win over the Moccasins.
Florida Southern came out very strong in the opening minutes, with three shots and two corner kicks in the first six minutes. During that stretch, Jovaughn Howard forced Thompson into two saves, and a shot by Zach Hofstetter was sent wide left.
The Spartans (9-0-1, 3-0 Sunshine State Conference) survived the early onslaught and after Paul DiPalma made a big save against Lister Warren in the 13th minute, Warren put UT on the scoreboard in the 16th. Taking a cross from Pascal Milien from the left side of the box, the junior midfielder blasted a one-touch shot into the net from inside the 6-yard box for his fourth goal of the season.
The Moccasins (1-8, 1-4 SSC) had a chance to tie in the 24th minute with another corner kick, but the Spartans again turned them away before going ahead 2-0 in the 29th. Again it was Milien who set up the goal, dropping the ball off for Brian Fekete near the top of box and allowing him to dribble in for another close-range shot that found its mark.
Florida Southern came right back after that, and again put pressure on the Tampa defense. Awarded a free kick in the 33rd minute, Zach Hofstetter sent the ball deep into the box where Ryan Griffin attempted to head it away. Instead it ended up going to Moccasin defender Ryan Arndt, who had come forward on the play and was stationed inside the box. Arndt sent his own header toward the net, but it hit the bottom of the crossbar and the Spartans were able to clear it out of danger.
Tampa’s next goal came from long distance as left back Zach Fraser sent a ball into the box from 40 yards out that may not have been a shot, but somehow dropped just over DiPalma’s head, under the crossbar and into the far upper corner of the net. That gave Tampa a 3-0 lead at halftime, though the Spartans had only a 9-7 advantage in shots.
The score remained that way until the 74th minute when Matt Davies slipped a shot inside the left post after getting free near the top of the box.
Tampa finished the game with an 18-12 advantage in shots, and Thompson had to make a season-high six saves to keep the Moccasins from scoring. West Florida was the only other team to test him so frequently, and the Argonauts needed two overtime periods to do it.
Florida Southern will return to the field on Wednesday when it travels to Saint Leo for a 7:00 p.m. match.
