Spartans Fall to the Conquistadors

TAMPA, Fla. – In the last moments of a tight match, the Spartans fall to the Conquistadors on Senior Night.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: Florida National 4 , Tampa 2

Record: Tampa (12-2, 9-1 SSC) , Florida National (7-3-2)

Location: Pepin Stadium || Tampa, Fla.

All-time series: This is the second meeting ever between the two teams. The Conquistadors won the first meeting on Oct. 29 in 2019. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED:

FIRST HALF: In the last match of the regular season the first shot on goal was taken by Amgad Salah (20") but was blocked. The Conquistadors responded with a shot of their own and found the back of the net just moments later (21"). Holding strong the Spartan attack continued, with a shot taken by Tim Krafft, saved by the goalie (27"). A foul was committed by Florida National (30"), giving a free kick to Julius Becker, who crossed the ball to the far side of the net, almost getting a shot off. The Conquistadors made their way down the field and in a risky move, goalie Zach Bahr charged toward an attacker to make a diving save (31"). Bahr would record two more saves in the first half (40') (41"). The half ended 1-0 Florida National. 

SECOND HALF: The Spartans started off the second half with a hot start, Becker scoring a goal with an assist from Krafft, just over a minute in. After a foul by the Conquistadors, Till Neumann was awarded a free kick and took advantage of the opportunity scoring goal number two, assisted by Salah (56"). Keeping with the momentum, Ornaldo Zeqiri took a shot on goal but the ball was saved by the FNU keeper (59"). Bahr had another diving save to protect the Spartan lead (61") which did not last much longer when FNU attackers scored in the top center of the net (63"). Attempting to break the tie, Gabriel Herrera (64"), Becker (66"), and Neumann (71") each took a shot on goal saved by the Conquistador goalie. An impressive bicycle kick and goal by a FNU attacker gained the Conquistadors the lead with less than 10 minutes left. Hoping to push the game to overtime the Spartans played up with virtually no defenders in the back field. A FNU attacker was able to make his way down the field and score, securing the Conquistador lead (88"). Florida National wins the match 4-2.  

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Bahr had a season-high of 6 saves. 

• Four Spartans played the entirety of the match, Neumann, Bahr, Marcello Valbuena and Xavier Lamour.

• Neumann had a total of 6 shots, a season high.

UP NEXT:  The post season begins with the Spartans competing in the SSC semifinal match on Thursday, Oct.11 at 7 p.m. at home. Their opponent will be the winner of a Monday night game between Barry University and Lynn University.

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

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