No. 14 Florida Tech Edges No. 18 Spartans in Battle of Ranked Teams

MELBOURNE, Fla. — The No. 18 University of Tampa men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought Sunshine State Conference matchup on the road, falling 2–1 to No. 14 Florida Tech at Rick Stottler Field on Saturday evening.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final Score: No. 14 Florida Tech 2, No. 18 Tampa 1
Records: Tampa (5-2-3, 1-2-2 SSC), Florida Tech (5-1-4, 3-1-1 SSC)
Location: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.
Attendance: 217

HOW IT HAPPENED

Florida Tech struck first late in the opening half when Tommaso Casadei found the back of the net in the 41st minute to give the Panthers a 1–0 lead at the break.

The Panthers extended their advantage early in the second half as Antonio Di Gaudio scored in the 54th minute off an assist from Logan Collins to make it 2–0.

Tampa battled back into contention midway through the period when Rodrigo Lopes scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 76th minute, assisted by Lorenz Offner. Despite several late chances, the Spartans were unable to find the equalizer.

Tampa outshot Florida Tech 14–9, including a 13–4 advantage in the second half, but Panther goalkeeper Elias Ronning Orn made five key saves to preserve the win.

TOP TAMPA PERFORMERS

• Rodrigo Lopes: Scored Tampa's lone goal, his seventh of the season.

• Lorenz Offner: Credited with the assist on Lopes' goal and recorded three shots.

• Viggo Svedin: Tallied two shots, one on goal, while providing consistent midfield pressure.

• Alex Hare: Collected one save in goal while facing nine total shots.

• Jannik Brengel: Anchored the back line with 80 minutes of steady defensive play.