Tampa Men's Soccer Downed By Rollins

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men's soccer team fell to Rollins College in a tight, one-goal contest decided by a late first half clincher by the Tars' Logan Laskey. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Rollins College 1, Tampa 0

Records: University of Tampa Spartans (1-5-3, 1-4 SSC) vs. Rollins College Tars (7-4-0, 1-4 SSC)

Location: Barker Family Stadium at Cahall-Sandspur Field | Winter Park, Fla.

All-time Series: Despite the loss, Tampa still leads the series 27-17-2. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Half | Rojay Smith put the Spartans in front in the 9th minute only to be denied by the offsides flag. Smith bolted past the Rollins' defensive line at midfield and slid the ball underneath a charging Eidur Ivarsson, but Smith's goal was disallowed. Rollins fired back in the 23rd minute as Christian Adams broke free on the right side of the penalty box and put a shot on frame, but goalkeeper Jake Richards parried the shot away from goal. The Tars would open the scoring on the stroke of halftime by way of Logan Laskey's first collegiate goal. Richards saved an initial shot from outside the penalty area, but lost his footing, which allowed Laskey to slot the ball into the net for the easy tap in after 40 minutes of play. 

2nd Half | Richards was called upon in the 55^th minute, saving a George New shot from point-blank range. New picked up a loose ball 15 yards out, but Richards was quick off his line, closing down New and making the diving save. The Spartans nearly equalized in the 66^th minute, but were denied on the doorstep by Ivarsson. Mike Schessl found himself in acres of space six yards from goal and tried to finesse his shot into the far corner, but Ivarsson stifled the close-range effort.  

INSIDE THE STATS: 

• Richards made seven saves on the night, which ties a season-high. The English goalkeeper also made seven saves in the 4-4 tie against North Georgia. He has logged 144 career saves, ranking eighth in UT history.
• All of Tampa's matches have been decided by a single goal or less. The last game decided by two or more goals came against the University of South Florida. The Bulls were the 3-1 victors in the exhibition match this August. 
• The Spartans had goals disallowed for offsides in both halves. UT was called offside seven times and Rollins was only called for offsides on two occasions. 

UP NEXT: The University of Tampa will play host to Barry University on Oct. 6 at Pepin Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m. 

Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.

Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams.