Box Score
TAMPA â€" Two first-half goals by Ryan Griffin gave Tampa the lead, and after Zach Hofstetter got the Mocs close again early in the second, Griffin finished things off by setting up the final goal late in the match to secure a 3-1 victory for the Spartans.
Both teams threatened early with Brian Fekete hitting the crossbar for Tampa (2-6-1, 2-2 Sunshine State Conference) in the 11th minute, and Gustaf Ytterbom hitting the post for Florida Southern (4-6, 1-4) in the 16th. The Spartans ended up out-shooting the Moccasins 11-6 in the half, but didn’t score until Griffin converted a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. The two-time All-SSC midfielder then knocked in a header off a cross from David Gulec in the 42nd minute to put UT up 2-0 at halftime.
Florida Southern cut the deficit in half just under eight minutes into the second half when Hofstetter also scored on a header, with Ytterbom picking up the assist. It was Hofstetter’s 10th goal of the season, and pushed his point total to 28.
That goal seemed to awaken the offense, with the Mocs out-shooting the Spartans 7-2 over the next 22 minutes. During that stretch, Ricky Marton had two shots saved by David Niepel, while Viktor Bakkioui had one saved and one blocked by a defender.
Fekete would break the momentum, however, by scoring his first goal of the season with a hard shot into the right corner after taking a pass from Griffin. That came with 13 minutes remaining, and the Mocs were able to get just one more shot of their own after that.
Niepel finished with five saves for Tampa, while Andres Guzman made six for Florida Southern.
Florida Southern will be on the road again Saturday in North Carolina where it will face Belmont Abbey at 2:00 p.m.
