Road Stretch Begins for Tampa, Will Face Saint Leo
ST. LEO, Fla. – No. 3 Tampa to take on Saint Leo to begin first of three-game road stretch.
The Matchup: No. 3 University of Tampa (12-1, 5-0 SSC) Saint Leo (7-4, 1-3 SSC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: University Turf Stadium. 33701 State Road 52 Saint Leo, FL 33574
Series History: Tampa leads the all-time series, 13-3 having won the last six.
About the Spartans: The Spartans are 8-2 in its last 10 matchups with Saint Leo and have won the last six. Tampa is coming off an impressive 20-4 win over Lynn at home where they allowed a season-low four goals. Senior, Canyon Birch and graduate student, Alex Poma were named SSC Players of the Week after their performances last week versus Embry-Riddle and Lynn. Birch tallied two goals and four assists versus the Fighting Knights while Poma lost just one faceoff going 16-17 in the circle. Birch currently ranks sixth in the nation in goals per game (3.62) while Poma ranks ninth in the nation in face-off winning percentage (.652). Tampa will be on the road for the remainder of the regular season and will start Wednesday when they face Saint Leo. With a win, UT will extend its win streak to 11 games, its longest since the 2022 season when the program was crowned National Champions.
About the Lions: The Lions boast a winning record overall but are on the flip side of things in SSC play. Saint Leo was on a six-game win streak before SSC play began. Since then, the Lions have gone 1-3 and hope to pick up its second win in conference play versus Tampa. SLU is 4-1 at home this season which bodes well for the Lions with their only loss coming against Florida Southern. Be sure to watch Michael Flores match up with Poma from the circle as both rank as the top two players in the SSC in face-off percentage. Flores has garnered SSC Specialist of the Week three times this season.