Spartans Shut Out Eckerd 2-0

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men's soccer team defeated the Eckerd College Tritons for the first matchup since the 2019 season. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: Tampa 2, Eckerd 0

Location: Johnson Field || St. Petersburg, Fla. 

All-time series: Wednesday's meeting marked the 48th meeting between the two teams, Tampa leading with a record of 36-11.

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

HOW IT HAPPENED:

FIRST HALF: Less than 30 seconds into the match and goalie Adam Forster had his first save of the game. A pair of fouls (3')(5') were committed by Eckerd earning Tampa two free kicks but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Tampa's defense put up a strong front and Forster logged another save (10'). The attack by Tampa charged on with two shots on goal by Travis Foster (12')(28'). With one more save (23') Forster would put himself at three saves for the half. With the half coming to a close Tampa's offense did not let up, logging four shots on goal: Albert Morales (32'), Ornaldo Zeqiri (34'), Juancho Fernandez (35'), and Max Brennan (36'). The period ended 0-0. 

SECOND HALF: The second half was off to a heated start where officials administered a yellow card to both teams as well as a red card for Eckerd (57'). The aggression paid off, as Fernandez tapped one in off the right foot with an assist from Nico Gamio. Forster logged one more save protecting the lead, and to further secure it, Gamio again assisted, passing the ball off to Omar Thali for another goal (70'). True freshman Marcello Valbuena had his first shot on goal of the season but was denied by the Tritons' keeper (84'). The two Tampa goals were left unanswered and the Spartans' record improved to 5-1.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Forster had the second-most saves in one game of his career (4).

• The Spartans dominated the Triton defense, outshooting them 16-6.

• Five Spartans played the entirety of the match (90 minutes total): Morales, Fernandez, Brennan, sophomore Carlos Ledon, and sophomore Cody Wells.

UP NEXT: The Spartans will travel to Daytona Beach to face Embry Riddle on Saturday, September 25th at 7 p.m.

GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com.

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 the Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.