Tampa Puts Finishing Touches on Perfect Week

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (4-1) women's soccer team defeated Mercy College (1-4) by a score of 3-1 for its third straight victory on Sunday afternoon at Pepin Stadium.

The Spartans controlled much of the first half, as they registered three goals to take at 3-0 lead going into the second half.

Lauren Moore continued her torrid offensive pace in the beginning of the season with two goals. The goals came in minute 11 and 12. Her first goal was assisted by Cici Gonzalez and Gabby Russo, while the second was an unassisted goal that came off a rebounded penalty kick that was saved.

Cina Salemi forced a handball in the box, then proceeded to score the third goal of the afternoon for the Spartans. Her score came in the 32nd minute of play, giving UT a 3-0 advantage that it would take to the break.

Tampa goalie, Kori Butterfield, registered four saves in the game. The lone Mercy goal came in minute 63 from the foot of Jennifer Vega.

The match, which was originally slated for 10 a.m., did not kick off until 12:30 p.m., due to lightning in the area. When play began, the teams agreed to a pair of 35-minute halves.

UT will head on the road to play Florida Tech on Wednesday at 1 p.m., in Melbourne Fla., for its sixth game of the season. The matchup will feature a pair of Sunshine State Conference opponents, though the contest will go down as a non-conference game.

The next home game will be at 8 p.m., on Saturday at Pepin Stadium against the Eckerd College Tritons. Live stats and an audio broadcast will be available for the Saturday home game through TampaSpartans.tv.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.