Samantha Kay Leads Defending Champs to Opening Round Victory

Box score

PENSACOLA, Fla. - In a battle of Sunshine State Conference teams, The University of Tampa (13-6-2) won a 3-2 double overtime thriller over Saint Leo University (15-5-2) in the first round of the NCAA II Women's Soccer South Regional.

It took Tampa just over six minutes to tally the match's first goal as freshman Samantha Kay scored unassisted after she regained control after having her initial shot blocked. Nine minutes later, the Lions evened the score as Chrissy Darwell connected on a header that was served up by teammate Sara Macko.

Following 40 minutes of scoreless play, Darwell registered her second goal of the match to give the Lions a 2-1 lead with 35 minutes to play. It took the Spartans just over three minutes to respond, as freshman Caroline Spencer scored on a long-range shot in the upper right corner. Martha Bromfield was credited with the assist.

The game then headed to overtime as neither team was able to score in the final 32 minutes of regulation. Following 10 minutes of scoreless play in the first overtime period and just over seven uneventful minutes in the final overtime, Kay struck again for the game-winner off a Courtney Evans corner kick.

Kendall Bourdon played the entire game in goal for UT, finishing with six saves. Bourdon also came up big in the second overtime when she made the biggest save of her career on a penalty kick by Kiki Day at the 103:45 mark. Tampa outshot Saint Leo by a 16-13 margin, though the Lions held a 9-7 advantage on shots on goal.

The Spartans advance to play host and national number-two University of West Florida on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may also sign up for eScores through the UT website, which is a free service that sends text message alerts on Spartan athletic events.