Grass-Rootes Effort Propels Tampa To Victory

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (1-6-1, 1-2 SSC) men's soccer team defeated No. 16 Lynn University (7-2, 3-1 SSC) in an impressive display of athletic competition on Saturday night. The victory marks the Spartans' first of its 2011 campaign.

Tampa has now won five straight over its SSC opponent, while posting an 8-2 effort against the Fighting Knights dating back to 2007.

The match was scoreless until the 22nd minute when senior Karl Swan took a corner kick for the Spartans. Swan strategically placed the ball in the box and after its brief contact with freshman Andrew Clare, junior Dominic Cutrofello headed the ball into the back of the net giving the Spartans the lead.

The goal was Cutrofello's third of the season, which ties senior Ryan Griffin for most goals scored on the squad this year. Swan and Clare both collected an assist, their firsts of 2011.

The score at halftime was 1-0 with the Spartans on top. This was the first time that the Spartans have entered the second period ahead of their opponent since their split squad season opening games on September 6.

The second half grew increasingly fierce but the Tampa defense prevented the Knights from leveling the score. The score remained 1-0 until the final whistle and UT had picked up its first win.

Tampa outshot No. 16 Lynn University 12 shots to seven.

Tampa sophomore David Niepel was in the net for the Spartans and recorded three saves and his first win of the season. LU's goalkeeper also collected three saves on the night and his second loss.

Head coach Adrian Bush commented on the men's first win by saying, "I am so happy for the players and I cannot tell you how painful it was as a staff to watch them go through the last seven games."

He continued on to say, "It's about the players and tonight is a reward for all the hard work and trust they put in each other."

The Spartans will play their fourth conference game at home on Wednesday against Florida Southern College. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. at Pepin Stadium.

"This is win number one," Bush said, "and our focus right now is on a very good Florida Southern team Wednesday night at home. Last game, next game."

Live stats and a webcast for the game against FSC will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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