Spartans Conclude Season in SSC Tournament Quarterfinal Against No.25 Rollins

WINTER PARK, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's soccer team opened up the Sunshine State Conference Tournament as they traveled to Winter Park, Fla. to take on the No. 25 Rollins College Tars. The Tars would score one goal in each half to win the game 2-0 over the Spartans.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Tampa 0, #25 Rollins 2
Records: Tampa (6-8-2, 4-4-2 SSC), Rollins (10-2-3, 6-1-3 SSC)
Location: Barker Family Stadium | Tampa, Fla.

All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series against the Tars at 16-11-4.

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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | Both teams began the match trying to get a feel for the game and went back and forth in the midfield with both backlines stopping the attacks. The Spartans were the better team in the first 15 minutes of the game and were only kept off the scoreboard as they were unable to get the final pass in the Rollins final third of the field on target. Junior Miranda Gonzalez and freshman Lacy Nasello were again up to the task of dealing with the other teams best opportunities as they made interceptions and took the ball away from the Rollins forwards before shots were able to be taken. At the 30 minute mark, Rollins had the best chance of the match up to that point as a long ball found its target but UT goalkeeper Caroline Frykgard came out to close the angle on the shot and made the save with the follow-up chance being cleared out by the defense.With 12th minutes to go in the half, Rollins would take a 1-0 lead as a shot by Paxton Sickler from 20 yards out went over the defense and caught Frykgard away from her line. Tampa would then look to tie the game up before the break but was unable to find the breakthrough.

2nd Half | The Spartans started out the second half strong as they chased the goal that would tie the game. They had a noticeable advantage on possession and play was kept on the Tars half of the field. About 15 minutes into the second half, the home side had a chance to go up another goal as a corner was crossed into the box and bounced around but the Tampa defense cleared away the danger. Unfortunately, Rollins was able to take advantage of another loose ball in the box to score their second goal of the night. Shortly after, Frykgard was called into action as the Tars took another shot from distance that the UT keeper was able to get her fingertips on and direct off the crossbar to prevent the goal. With under ten minutes left in the game, the Spartans changed their formation as Miranda Gonzalez moved up to the front line to add another player to the attack. With another forward for the midfielders to target, Tampa was able to put some pressure on the Tars and Gonzalez even had one of the better chances as she took a shot from outside the box that had too much time to rise as it went over the crossbar.

INSIDE THE STATS:
• The team was only able to record nine shots on the night for the second game in a row.
• Frykgard recorded eight saves on the night, two short of her season high set at Florida Southern earlier this season.
• UT held an 8-3 edge in corner kicks but was unable to score a goal from the set pieces.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
• Despite the loss, the center back duo of Gonzalez and Lacy once again were a major reason why the team was able to stay in the game despite falling behind on the scoreboard.
• After a rough start to the campaign on the road and to open conference play, the team went 5-2-2 over the course of the second half of the season.

UP NEXT:
The Spartans conclude their 2016 campaign with this match and will now look to build on a strong second half of the season to improve and get ready for their 2017 campaign.

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