Spartans Slay Lions to Advance to SSC Finals

Box score

ST. LEO, Fla. - The University of Tampa (12-5-2) women's soccer team breezed past top seed and No. 6 Saint Leo University (15-2-1) by a 3-1 score to advance to the finals of the 2011 Sunshine State Conference tournament.

"A true team performance today again," says head coach Gerry Lucey. "It was never going to be a day for pretty soccer so we knuckled down and went toe to toe with St. Leo. Their physical style put us under pressure early on and we gifted them an early goal. However, our girls never dropped their heads and fought back with two goals based purely on endeavor."

The Spartans quickly erased an early SLU goal as it scored three unanswered goals to move past the host team. The short-lived Saint Leo lead came at 14:30, when Pia Soesemann gave the Lions brief excitement before Tampa knotted the score in the 23rd minute.

UT's Brittan Spence scored the first goal of the afternoon for the visiting team, coming from a Shannon Walisch free kick. Tampa would then take a 2-1 lead to intermission as Megan Lawrence netted her second goal of the year, and first game-winner, at the 35:55 mark.

"Brittan very bravely went in for a challenge and was able to nick it past the keeper," comments Lucey. "Soon afterwards, Megan Lawrence chased down a loose ball and forced their defender and keeper to make a mess of things. She got a fortunate break and was able to pass into an empty net. We had to change our style of play to suit the conditions and their formation."

Freshman Amber Pennybaker later tacked on an insurance goal in the 83rd minute, as she dribbled past SLU defenders from midfield.

"In the second half, they were pushing for an equalizer and we knew we had a chance for the counter attack," continues Lucey. "We missed several great scoring chances with poor passes but were eventually rewarded when Amber had a breakaway and finished in style."

The Lions finished with 16 shots, compared to 10 for the Spartans, though the quality of shots were evidenced by UT's advantage in shots on goal, 6-4. Pennybaker led all Spartans with three shots, including two on target as Lawrence also had a pair of shots on goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Emelie Karstrom played the entire match, finishing with three saves, to move to 11-4-2 on the year.

"After the disappointment of losing to them last week our team was fired up to seek revenge," says Lucey. "The seniors were especially fired up as they were overlooked in the SSC all conference selections. It was great to see the fighting spirit they've displayed the past few years. Hopefully we can play a quality game on Sunday too and take home the title."

Tampa advances to the SSC championship game where it will attempt to win the program's fifth tournament title, and second straight after capturing the 2010 championship.

The Spartans will meet Rollins College in the title game, after the Tars defeated semifinalist Florida Tech on Friday by a 2-0 score. The championship game is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m., at SLU. Live stats and a broadcast may be accessed through the official tournament web site, http://saintleolions.com/sports/wsoc/2011-12/tournament.

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