No. 6 Spartans Fall to No. 10 Crusaders in Season Opener

SAVANNAH, Ga. –  The No. 10 Belmont Abbey College Crusaders defeat the No. 6 University of Tampa Spartans by a final score of 13-9 in UT's 2019 season opener. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 6 Tampa Spartans 9, No. 10 Belmont Abbey Crusaders 13

Records: Tampa (0-1), Belmont Abbey (1-0)

Location:  Savannah, Ga. 

All-time Series: The BAC Crusaders lead the all-time series against the Tampa Spartans 3-1.

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HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Period

• The No. 10 ranked Crusaders were on the board first, scoring a man-up goal with 8:37 left in the quarter. 
• The Spartans then answered at the 6:00 minute mark with a goal from Jake Levine. 
• In the last ten seconds of the quarter, both BAC and UT scored again. BAC netted its second goal with :10 seconds left, and then Ross Dickerson tied the game at 2 with :03 seconds left in the quarter. 
• At the end of the first period, the Spartans and the Crusaders were tied at 2.  

2nd Period

• Starting the second period, the Spartans were the first team to score with a goal from Andrew Kew, the assist by Jake Mosher McGraw. 
• Belmont Abbey then answered with 11:16 remaining in the half. 
• The Spartans then scored back-to-back goals to regain the lead. The first goal was scored by Matt Vetter, assisted by Andrew Kew. The second goal was netted by freshman Harry Kilkowski, his first collegiate goal, also assisted by Kew. 
• BAC scored the last goal of the half with 1:17 remaining. 
• At the end of the first half, the No. 6 Spartans lead the No.10 Crusaders 5-4.

3rd Period

• Coming out of halftime, the Spartans were the first team to score with another goal from Matt Vetter, his second of the day. This goal gave the Spartans the 6-4 lead.
• Shortly after, at 13:11, Harry Kilkowski scored a man-up goal, his second goal of the game. 
• The BAC Crusaders then responded with three unanswered goals, tying the game at 7. 
• Kilkowski then earned his third and final goal of the game with 5:59 remaining in the period. 
• Matt Vetter scored the final goal of the period, the assist by Dom Mazza. 
• Heading into the fourth quarter the Spartans lead the Crusaders 9-7. 

4th Period

• In the fourth period, BAC scored six goals to end the game. 
• The No. 10 BAC Crusaders defeated the No. 6 UT Spartans by a final score of 13-9.  

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Matt Vetter and Harry Kilkowski lead the Spartans offense, each with three goals. 
• Additionally, Andrew Kew contributed greatly to the offensive efforts with one goal and two assists. 
• Ross Dickerson won 19-24 faceoffs he took, in addition to leading the team in ground balls with 10.
• B.J. Borowski recorded 13 saves in the contest.

UP NEXT:
The Spartans will SSC rival, Florida Southern College in a neutral site contest on Saturday, February 16 in Orlando, Florida. The game is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. at Lake Highland Prep.

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