Spartans Win SSC Opener

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 7 University of Tampa (4-0-1, 1-0 SSC) men's soccer team defeated Eckerd College (2-3-0, 0-1 SSC) by a one goal margin on Saturday evening. The win marks Tampa's first Sunshine State Conference victory of the season.

The Spartans broke open the scoring at the 10:40 mark as sophomore Craig Laird fed Tyler Blackwood a pass from midfield, who then floated the ball over the Triton goalkeeper's head. The goal marks Blackwood's team-leading fourth of the season. The score remained 1-0 at the end of the first half.

Neither team managed to score in the final period of the match, despite Tampa's 16 shots and Eckerd's six.

Tampa's senior goalkeeper David Niepel finished the match with two saves, while Eckerd's goalie recorded eight. Tampa totaled 24 shots on goal compared to the Triton's 10.

The Spartans will travel to Saint Leo, Fla. on Wednesday night to partake in another SSC matchup. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and an audio webcast is available through tampaspartans.tv.

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