Spartans Slam Sharks In SSC Meeting

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Rebounding from its first loss earlier this week, the No. 9 University of Tampa men's soccer team rolled over Sunshine State Conference opponent Nova Southeastern by a final score of 6-1 on Wednesday night.

Led by two goals each from Lister Warren and Greg Sasser, the Spartans rode three first half tallies to defeat the Sharks, moving Tampa to 11-1-1 on the season, 5-1 in the SSC, and dropping NSU to 7-9 overall, 2-5 SSC.

UT got on the board in the 14th minute when Warren put on past the Sharks' Lyle Howe to put the score at 1-0. Minutes later, Greg O'Connor pushed the lead to 2-0 when he took a pass from Ryan Griffin into the back of the net. Warren's second goal of the contest rounded out the first half scoring and gave Tampa a decisive lead,

NSU's Romain Onteniente ended Ryan Thompson's shutout bid in the 57th minute off a Tim Taylor corner kick, but the Spartans responded when National Player of the Year candidate Pascal Milien netted his ninth of the year. In the final minutes, sophomore Sasser added two goals for Tampa to ensure UT's 11th victory of the season.

The six goals marks a season-high for Tampa. Thompson finished with three saves for Tampa.

The Spartans will travel to Melbourne on Saturday to take on Florida Tech in a 4 p.m. contest. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, which is a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events.