Offensive Momentum Continues as UT Slays Lions

ST. LEO, Fla. – The University of Tampa Men's Soccer team defeated Sunshine State Conference opponent Saint Leo Lions by a score of 3-1.

MATCHUP
Final: Tampa 3, Saint Leo 1
Records: Tampa Spartans (5-6-1, 3-4-1 SSC), Saint Leo Lions (6-6-0, 3-3-0 SSC)
Location: Saint Leo University Stadium || St. Leo, Fla. 
All-time Series: Tampa leads in the all-time series with a record of 36-13-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Half | (37') After a well contested first half, the Spartans finally broke open the scoring by the foot of Rojay Smith on a goal assisted by Omar Thali. || Tampa, 1-0

2nd Half | (53') A few minutes into the second half of play, sophomore Julius Becker blew past the Lions' defense and netted a lower corner goal past Saint Leo's goalkeeper. With that goal, Becker gave the Spartans a commanding 2-0 lead. (78') However the lead did not last for long as Tore Naess scored his first goal of the year in an effort to get the Lions back into the game. (89') Omar Thali scored his third goal in the past two games as he secured the win for the Spartans.  || Tampa 3-1

Inside the Stats:

• Omar Thali has scored 3 goals in his past 2 games.
• Rojay Smith now has 6 goals on the season.
• Tampa took 18 shots, 9 of which were shots on goal.
• The winning goalkeeper was Jake Richards, who finished the evening with four saves. He is now 22 saves away from Ryan Thompson's school record.

UP NEXT: The Spartans will look to keep up the momentum they return home this Saturday, October 26^th as they face the Rollins University Tars, at 7:00 PM.

Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. 

Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.

Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.