Spartans Sunk By Buccaneers on Senior Night

Box score

TAMPA, Fla.-The University of Tampa men's soccer team falls to Barry University by a 3-1 margin on Friday night at Pepin Stadium for the 2013 season's senior night, honoring Drew Buckley, Alex Knaggs, and David Niepel.

The Spartans drop to 6-6-2, 2-5 in the Sunshine State Conference, while the Buccaneers improve to 7-8-1, 4-3 in SSC play.

Strong defense by both the Spartans and Buccaneers kept the game scoreless throughout the first 20 minutes of the match.

The Buccaneers jumped on the board in the 23rd minute with forward Thomas Coombes with two back-to-back goals. Barry defender Shaun Herselman tallied the assist to Coombes' bicycle kick.

Midfielder Nico Gercke finalized Barry's first half score when he found the back of the net assisted by fellow midfielder Joong Kim.

The Spartans quenched the scoring drought with a goal two minutes left in the half when midfielder Nasyir Rodriguez capitalized on the rebound by forward Craig Laird and defender Andrew Clare.

Tampa was outshot by Barry 7-3 at the end of the first half with both keepers Niepel and Johnny Rodrigues tallying one save a piece.

The Spartans picked up momentum in a physical second half outshooting the Buccaneers 9-8 but were unable to convert. Niepel and Rodrigues captured four more additional saves to round out the night at five.

Tampa returns to action hosting Florida Southern on Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m. at Pepin Stadium to conclude the 2013 regular season. Live stats and a video broadcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.

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