Second Half Offense Leads UT To Victory

SAINT LEO, Fla. - With a 2-1 victory over Saint Leo University (5-2), The University of Tampa (6-2) men's soccer team picked up a victory at SLU for the first time since 2002. The matchup marked the Sunshine State Conference opener fore the Spartans as the Lions have now suffered two league losses by a combined two goals.

Saint Leo took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute as Edgar Herrera scored on a through ball from Odyss Economides.

The Lions would hold the lead for over 34 minutes before Kemal Malcolm knotted the score on a shot from the right edge of the penalty box. Brian Fekete assisted on the first Spartan goal. The goal was registered at 84:11.

Greg Sasser put UT over the top in the 84th minute as he netted the game-winner from classmate Karl Swan.

"Any time you can win on the road in this conference, it's a huge result," Tampa head coach Adrian Bush said following the win. Saint Leo had been the only remaining SSC team that Bush had not beaten on the road in his career. "Saint Leo is a good team."

Freshman goalkeeper David Niepel turned in a huge effort, finishing with a career-high nine saves. UT finished with 13 shots, including seven on goal as the Lions were credited with 16 and 10 respectively.

"I think our guys settled into the game with some adjustments and we began to find our rhythm," Bush continued. "The credit is to our players; they left it on the field tonight."

UT is back in action on Tuesday as it hosts Eckerd College at 7 p.m. Tampa will offer a webcast and live stats through www.tampaspartans.com.

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