Spartans Reel In Upset Over Top Seeded Sharks

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's soccer team avenged their regular season loss to the Nova Southeastern University Sharks as they took down the No.1 Seed in the SSC Tournament on their home turf with a 3-0 victory over NSU. Ali Robinson, Lacy Nasello, and Erika Peitersen each scored a goal in the first half while Alex Jackson and Alexa Sheridan added the assists. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Tampa 3, Nova Southeastern 0
Records: Spartans (9-6-2), Sharks (12-4-1)
Location: NSU Soccer Complex  | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series against NSU at 16-5-3.

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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | The Spartans came out flying at the first whistle pressuring the Sharks from the start and it paid off quickly. With 2:50 on the clock, UT had a corner kick and took advantage to open the scoring. Jackson sent in a cross to the back post and among a multitude of players, Robinson found the ball and sent it into the back of the net to set the pace. As the first 15 minutes ticked off the clock, Nova began to settle into the game, trying to attack down the right side in chase of the tying goal. With 20 minutes gone, Nasello took the ball near midfield and began to pick up ground on a defensive line for NSU that kept giving her space. As Nasello neared the top of the box, Emily Cady aided her in giving her the space to shoot as her run towards the sideline pulled a defender. After stepping into the box, Nasello took a shot across the box that went past the keeper and double the lead for Tampa. The home side started to pick up the pace as the clock began to near the halftime break but the back line of UT kept them at bay stepping into passes to cut them off and tackling the ball away from the NSU players. With five minutes to go in the first half, another corner paid off for the Spartans. The ball was sent into the middle of the box and it was only cleared to midfield where Mia Brantley found it and set Sheridan free down the left side where she crossed into the middle of the box. Peitersen beat the goalkeeper and the defender to the ball as she put the final goal on the board to sink the Sharks. 

2nd Half | The second half was a little closer contested as the Sharks tried to snap the Spartans shutout early in the half in order to get back on the game. However, as the half advanced and UT held off the advances from the home side, the game began to slow down with the whistle interrupting the pace of the game for both sides. Goalkeeper Caroline Frykgard did not have to intervene much during the match but came up big in the 63rd minute as she saved a penalty kick after a handball in the box gave the Sharks a golden opportunity to cut into the deficit. Frykgard dove in the correct direction to save the initial shot and quickly claimed the rebound to stop any follow-up attempts. After that attempt, NSU began to introduce multiple subs as they essentially conceded the game to UT. 

INSIDE THE STATS:
• UT held a 13-8 edge in shots (6-3 on shots on goal).
• Tampa also had the advantage in corners 6-1.
• The three goals were given up by NSU tonight ties for the most they have given up in a loss. This was also only the second time the Sharks have been shutout this season.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• This is the second time these two teams have met with the teams splitting the series 1-1.
• The 3-0 final score is the second time this season the Spartans win a game in such fashion.
• Tampa now has 19 goals this season. Nine different players have at least one goal and nine players have at least one assist.

UP NEXT: The team will extend their stay in Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days as they now have a Sunday matchup with Florida Tech for the trophy in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Final. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 pm at the NSU Soccer Complex.

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