Tampa Drops Midweek Matchup to #22 Armstrong State

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The University of Tampa women's soccer team traveled to Savannah, Ga. to take on the 22nd ranked Armstrong University Pirates. The Spartans and Pirates played out under the lights and rain that came and went all game long. Unfortunately for the visitors, the match ended in a 2-0 defeat for Tampa. 

In the first half, UT could not find a rhythm in the match. Armstrong State dictated the pace of the game and saw three shots go off the crossbar in the first 12 minutes that kept the Tampa defense on its toes. The Pirates had 14 shots total and 5 corner kicks while Tampa was held to 3 shots and just 1 corner. However, with some timely blocks by the defense and some good fortune on the long shots put on target by ASU, Tampa was able to hold the home side at bay and went into the halftime break deadlocked at 0-0.

After the break, the Pirates kept dictating the tempo of the game as they had more chances to go on top. The opportunities for Tampa were few as miscommunication led to not being able to complete plays on the offensive side of the field. ASU would go on top 1-0 in the 72nd minute as forward Martha Trimbach managed to get a shot into the back of the net as she beat goalkeeper Sydney Ross one on one. The team would try to respond and tie the game up and had two chances with back to back corners but were unable to find the breakthrough. In the 82nd minute, Trimbach struck again as she scored from long distance off a deflection. With just under 10 minutes left in the game, Tampa did their best to end the shutout but was not able to create any solid shots on target.

The Spartans will now look to bounce back on Saturday, September 17 when they host Nova Southeastern University at 7 p.m. to open Sunshine State Conference play. Live stats and video will be available on tampaspartans.com

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