Spartans Earn Third Shutout in a Row, Beat Lakers 3-0

MORROW, Ga. – The University of Tampa Spartan's men's soccer team blanked the Clayton State Lakers for its third shutout in a row.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 3, Clayton State 0

Records: Tampa 3-1, Clayton State 1-3-1

Location: Laker Field || Morrow, Ga.

All-time series: Tampa leads the all-time series 8-3-2.

Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube

HOW IT HAPPENED:

FIRST HALF: The Spartans outshot the Lakers 7-5 in the first half with Clayton State enjoying the only quality chance in the 44th minute, a shot to the bottom right of the net that was stopped by Tampa keeper Adam Forster. Score: Tied 0-0

SECOND HALF: Tampa's offense came alive in the second half, and the Spartans scored two goals in a two-minute span. One by Juancho Fernandez (assisted by Omar Thali), who scored his first goal of the season in the 51st minute. Ornaldo Zeqiri scored his first goal of the season just the second of his career in the 53rd minute and gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead. Thali added his fourth goal of the season in the 62nd minute and enjoyed a three-point showing. Final: 3-0 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Omar Thali's goal and assist puts him at first in scoring in the Sunshine State Conference (4G, 2A).
• Juancho Fernandez's goal was the 15th of his career.
• Adam Forster posted his third clean sheet in a row and made one save.
• UT has not had three consecutive shutouts since the 2016 season (against Clayton State, 9/9, at Warner, 9/13, and at Nova Southeastern, 9/17).

UP NEXT: The Spartans return home and begin conference play with an evening matchup with Barry at Pepin Stadium on Saturday at 6:00 PM.