An Early Goal and a Late Goal Lead UT to Draw 1-1 in 2OT with Saint Leo

ST. LEO, FLA. - The University of Tampa women's soccer team traveled to face off against the Saint Leo University Lions in their final road match of the regular season. The match ended in a 1-1 draw in 2OT as the Lions took the early lead and Tampa tied it near the end of regulation and neither side was able to find a winner in extra time.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Tampa 1, Saint Leo 1
Records: Tampa (5-7-2, 3-3-2 SSC), Saint Leo (8-3-1, 4-1-1 SSC)
Location: University Field | St. Leo, Fla.

All-time Series: Tampa has won 17 matches to Saint Leo's four and there have now been two draws.

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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | Saint Leo dominated posession in the first 45 minutes. They were able to build up play and took advantage of a set piece to score five minutes into the match to take the early lead. Tampa had the 2-1 advantage in shots on goal but their two shots did not threaten the goalkeeper. The Lions broke up the pace of the game constantly as they were whistled for five fouls while the Spartans only had one foul whistled. Tampa's back four did an outstanding job of stopping the Saint Leo plays before there was any real danger to keep the deficit at just 1-0 as Miranda Gonzalez and Lacy Nasello were key in intercepting the ball before it got to the final third time after time.

2nd Half | The second half was a much closer fight as both sides went back and forth in the midfield as Saint Leo looked to extend their lead and Tampa fought to tie the game up. The visitors were the ones with the better chances as they put shot after shot on goal trying to end the Lions clean sheet. Overall, UT outshot Saint Leo 8-3 in the second half and they would not be denied. As has been the story recently, the Spartans left it until late in the game to cash in. In the 88th minute and trailing by the narrowest margin, Alexa Sheridan sent in a cross from a corner kick that was met at the back post by Gonzalez to set off celebrations on the field and on the bench. With the score tied, neither side forced anything in the last two minutes and the game went to overtime.

1st OT | The Spartans were the ones that did the attacking in the first overtime period. The team had four shots in the period with the final one being a shot from the top of the box by Gabby Scirica with 2:15 left that beat the keeper but hit the crossbar. Not even a minute later, the Lions had their best chance at ending the game as Arielle Kabangu beat the defense and curved in a shot that UT keeper Caroline Frykgard had the save of the game to keep out and Frykgard then followed up that save with another key play as she forced the follow up shot to go wide.

2nd OT | Tired legs began to be evident in both squads as neither team was able to really threaten as both of the Spartans shots were off target and Saint Leo saw one of their shots be saved and the other was off target. The clock would run out and the teams would have to settle for the draw.

INSIDE THE STATS:
• The Spartans have fallen in love with extra time as they have now played five straight games that have gone into at least one overtime period. The team has won two, lost one, and tied two games in that span.
• This was the fourth game to head into extra time for the Lions and the first time this season that they have tied a game.
• Tampa tied their season high in shots with 17. They also had 17 at Florida Southern in a 1-0 win in late September.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
• Eight different players for Tampa have now recorded at least one goal this season after Gonzalez's goal tonight.
• UT has now scored 15 goals this season and has scored at least one goal in each of their last seven matches in a row.
• Tampa will be looking to finish the regular season on a high note as they have their final match on Saturday night.

UP NEXT:
The Spartans will host Florida Tech on Senior Night for their final game of the regular season on Saturday, October 22 at 7 p.m. Live stream and stats will be available on TampaSpartans.com

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