Spartans Spear Sharks in Road Victory
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Tampa (5-4-2, 1-3 SSC) got back on track with a 3-1 victory over Sunshine State Conference opponent Nova Southeastern University (3-5-3, 0-3-1 SSC) on Wednesday night.
"I'm very proud of these players," says head coach Adrian Bush. "To go down a goal on the road is not easy in this conference. Our overall commitment to defending was great and our back four and David (Niepel) really stepped up."
Nova Southeastern struck first with a goal from Viktor Jonsson in the 27th minute. The Spartans quickly responded, following up with a pair of goals within the next 10-minutes to grab the lead for good.
Freshman Jason Collister scored UT's first goal as Tyler Blackwood and John Bentham assisted. Blackwood would then add goals in the 37th and 76th minutes to propel the Spartans to victory. The first goal was unassisted and came off a take-away in the box. The final insurance goal came off a Daniel Barboto through ball.
"Tyler (Blackwood) was fantastic and that's what we need from him the rest of the way," states Bush. "He scored two great goals tonight, but this was a team effort. As a coach, these are the team results that make you proud."
Both teams were credited with nine shots and five on goal, with Nova carrying a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. Blackwood had three shots as Craig Laird added two.
David Niepel registered another solid effort in goal, finishing with three saves.
Tampa will travel to Eckerd College for another SSC road test on Saturday, with the game slated for 7:30 p.m. Live stats will be available through the men's soccer schedule on TampaSpartans.com.
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