Spartans Concede SSC Opener to Nova Southeastern

The University of Tampa dropped the conference opener, 1-0, to the Sharks.

Spartans Concede SSC Opener to Nova Southeastern

Team Stats

September 15, 2018

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's soccer team fought back in the second half against Nova Southeastern on Saturday night, but ultimately came up short in the conference opener. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Nova Southeastern 1, Tampa 0

Records: Tampa Spartans (0-2-3, 0-1-0 SSC), Nova Southeastern Sharks (5-1-0, 1-0-0 SSC)
Location: NSU Soccer Complex || Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
All-time Series: UT leads 18-6-4.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | The Sharks seized the lead in the 35th minute when Juan Nunez netted his first goal of the season. Sebastian Loibl created space on the left side of the box by cutting back towards net and sent a through-ball across the face of the goal, where Nunez was able to get a slight touch on the ball to take the lead. Nova Southeastern racked up two yellow cards in the first half; Lucas Dessoliers logged one, and the other was charged to the team.
 
2nd Half | The match became chippy in the second half as the two teams accumulated five yellow cards. Nova Southeastern was charged with three yellow cards, while Mike Schessl and Adrian Constantine picked up cards for UT. The Spartans out-shot the Sharks in the second half, 4-2, however could not reach net. Toni Soler ripped a free kick in the 65th minute but the attempt was saved by Titouan Le Roux.
 
QUOTING COACH ADRIAN BUSH
"In our conference, you cannot play just one half of soccer and expect to get results. Nova is a quality team and dominated us the first 45 minutes. In the second half, our guys played fantastic and it was directly related to the hard work our team put in. We need to build on that momentum into our next tough conference game Wednesday at Eckerd.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
  • The Spartans did not take a corner kick in the entire match. Prior to this evening, UT had registered a corner kick in 22 straight matches.
  • Soler led the team with three shots, and he was one of six Spartans to play the full 90 minutes. 
  • Nova Southeastern have won five straight matches since dropping the season opener. 
UP NEXT: The University of Tampa will travel to Eckerd College on Wednesday for the second conference matchup of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Saint Petersburg.
 
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