Spartans Slay Lions in Home Opener

Box score

TAMPA, Fla.-The University of Tampa men's soccer team (2-0-1) defeated Florida Memorial University (0-3) by a score 4-0 on Friday night. Keeper David Niepel recorded his second victory of the season tallying three saves in the shutout.

The Spartans jumped to an early lead in the 8th minute of play. Forward Tyler Blackwood crossed the ball from the right line to midfielder Kody Thomas to register the goal. To continue the offensive momentum, Thomas scored again with the assist from fellow midfielder Alex Knaggs in the 22nd minute.

With less than 10 minutes left in the first half of play, Naysir Rodriguez extends the Spartan lead to 3-0 from a cross by John Bentham. Both Tampa and Florida Memorial concluded the first half with six shots a piece.

Tampa stayed strong in the second half out shooting Florida Memorial eight shots to three. A breakaway goal scored by Blackwood with Knaggs tallying the assist determined the final score of the game with 40 minutes left to play.

The matchup was marked by a total of eight combined fouls for both teams including a red card on Florida Memorial keeper Pablo Terminiello forcing defender Gabriel Umansky to take the net for the remaining 24 minutes of the game.

The home-opening victory marks their second consecutive win of the season. The Spartans hit the road to face the Barry University Buccaneers on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Miami Shores, Fla. Live stats and a video webcast are available through TampaSpartans.tv.

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