TAMPA, Fla.-The No.7 Tampa Spartans defeated the Rollins Tars Saturday afternoon by a score of 11-5. The game took place at a drenched Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural complex.
Following the match Tampa improves to 3-1 overall, and 1-0 in Sunshine State Conference play. Dropping their third consecutive game Rollins falls to 2-3 (0-1)
Despite the heavy rainfall the Spartans were still dominant on both the offensive and defensive ends. The University of Tampa outscored Rollins College in every period of play. Sean Giampietro led Tampa's attack with his hat-trick performance. Also netting two goals of their own were Bobby Calhoun and Conor Whipple who balanced out the offensive effort. The Spartans also out hustled the Tars collecting 23 groundballs to their 15. Rory Whipple decided to go with a new face in AJ Arnold between the pipes. Arnold faced 13 shots and saved eight, on his way to posting a.615 save percentage.
Rollins struck first as Morgan Baker scored just three minutes in to the first period. Tampa quickly answered back goal with a goal scored by Conor Whipple off a Zak Goldbach assist. After Whipple's goal, the Spartans never looked back as they rattled off four more goals taking a 5-1 lead into the half.
Second half action, started similar to the first with the Tars' Morgan Baker scoring first. The Spartans answered back with three consecutive goals by Zak Goldbach, Daniel Soviero, and Conor Whipple. The Tars responded with 33 seconds remaining in the third period, as Stephen DeFlumeri scored assisted by Jack Vonarb. Rollins made an attempt to rally in the fourth as they struck first, but Tampa proved too much for the Tars to handle.
When Asked about the game Coach Whipple said "he was extremely happy how the team performed on defense". He later went on to say "Arnold's play in net was much needed after their performance against limestone and coming off the two week break."
Tampa hits the road for their next game, traveling to Lakeland to take on rival Florida Southern. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.
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