Spartans Trounce Pioneers In Weekend Contest

COLUMBUS, Ga. -The Tampa Spartans faced the Tusculum Pioneers in an early Sunday morning CSU Invitational matchup and came out victorious 3-1 at the Walden Soccer Complex.

Tampa dominated the contest from the first whistle on as they controlled the pace of the match and held nearly 65% of the possession, as well as outshot their opponent 22-5. The Spartans played lockdown defense on the back line and uptempo offense.

"Overall the players are working hard out there for each other sharing the ball and being selfless," said first-year head coach Erin Switalski about her teams great form to open the season.

Offensively, UT played with high intensity and precision, utilizing crisp passing and a deadly counter attack to make short work of the defense of Tusculum. The quick counter-attack and precise passing proved to be too much for TC At the 33-minute mark, Gabby Scirica put away beautiful ball past the keeper to give her side the early lead.

However, Tampa's one moment of vulnerability was taken advantage of by the Pioneer's as Katja Andersson notched a goal to bring her squad level at the 39-minute mark just minutes before halftime.

The Spartans came out determined in the second half not to let the game get away from them. They made that message clear starting the second half with a bang as Lauren Cicero drove home what would be the game-winner at the 50-minute mark. After going ahead 2-1, the squad settled and began playing with coinfedince and more aggressive on the offensive end.

The victory was officially sealed in the 90th minute, when newcomer Nastasia Asgedom ran down a ball on the right side and played into the box to Korey O'Rourke. Eagerly waiting O'Rourke netted the proverbial exclamation point on the first victory of the season.

Defensively, the squad played aggressive doing their best to limit Tusculum's opportunities. The aggressive play helped transition to Tampa's deadly counter attack. Denying nearly every attack launched by the Pioneers was Miranda Gonzalez and Audrey Hayward, along with the rest of the talented UT defenders.

The victory not only marks the first of the season but also, head coach Erin Switalski's first career win. When asked about getting first win of the season, and career Switalski said, "the girls played well together as a team, and it was exciting to see the goals come from three different girls."

The Tampa Spartans return home to take on the Colombus state Cougars on September 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. live stats and video coverage will be available for fans.

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