No. 4 Spartans Earn Crown With Victory Over Royals

TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 4 University of Tampa Spartans stayed strong against the Queens University Royals, winning 14-9.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Tampa 14 , Queens (N.C.) 9
Records: Tampa (2-0), Queens (0-1)
Location:  Naimoli Field, Tampa Fla.
All-time Series:  This is the third match-up between the two, with Tampa leading the series 2-0.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Period

• Andrew Kew fired the first goal for the Spartans taking the lead early. 
• Conor Whipple with back to back goals, one solo goal and one assisted goal from Bryan Wright, extending the lead for the Spartans 3-0 with 5:15 on the clock. 
• The Royals answered back 16 seconds later, decreasing the deficit by two goals. 

2nd Period

• The Royals offense scored to start the second period, making it 4-2.
• Kew scored his second goal of the game with 12:19 on the clock.
• Three minutes later Kew was assisted by Whipple, leading the Royals 5-2.
• Kew picked up another goal with an assist from Chris Vetter with 8:11 on the clock.
• At 5:56, the Royals got on the board against with a goal from, Spartans still have a three-goal lead.
• Queens decreased the deficit to 6-4 at 2:58.
• Kew was forced to score his fifth goal of the game with 1:36 on the clock. 

3rd Period

• Sam Watts sparked the offense in the third period with his sixth successful face-off of the game. 
• Despite a strong defense from Tampa, Queens scored two goals, diminishing the deficit to one goal. 
• Kew scored the first goal of the period for his sixth of the game.
• Whipple brought another goal at 9:04, his third of the game. Increasing the lead by three, 9-6.
• Royals answered back twenty seconds later, Tampa still leading 9-7.
• 3:48 on the clock Tampa tacked on a goal from Vetter, his first of the game.
• The Royals struck with 1:23 left in the period, Tampa leading 10-8.

4th Period

• Tampa got on the board early at 13:57 with a goal from Jake Mosher McGraw, leading 11-8.
• The Vetter brothers, Matt and Chris teamed up to score the twelfth goal of the game for Tampa. Matt earning the goal and Chris the assist.
• Whipple with an assist from Wright grabbed the thirteenth goal of the game, now leading 13-8.
• At 3:05 Whipple struck again, unassisted this time for his fifth of the game.
• Queens responded with a goal at 2:25 to make the score 14-9, Tampa.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Senior All-American, Whipple racked up five goals and three assists.
• Kew tallied six goals, including five in the first half.
• Watts was successful for 13 of 20 face-offs.
• The Vetter brothers teamed up for the first time to score for the Spartans.
• Senior A.J. Arnold got the win in goal, finishing with seven saves while facing 15 shots.
• Defender Luke Posner led the way for the Spartan unit that forced 19 turnovers.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Head Coach Rory Whipple is approaching another career milestone as he now sits at 298 career wins. The all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division II history is in his sixth season at UT and now has 70 wins as a Spartan.

UP NEXT:
Tampa returns to action on Saturday, February 18th at Lindenwood for a 1:00pm start. Live stats will be available through TampaStats.com.

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