Last year, I was pretty hard on the men’s soccer team. I still had my doubts this week.

All my reservations and doubts were washed away in a decisive 4-2 victory over the No. 1 Lynn University Fighting Knights.

They showed teamwork, communication and spirit, three things that had been lacking in the past few years.

If this pattern keeps up, every fall sport at UT will experience new levels of success. With volleyball, women’s soccer and women’s cross country all in the rankings, a playoff season by the men’s soccer team will surprise even the biggest Spartan fans.

Winning teams put fans in the stands. If the men’s team continues to beat big-time teams, they can expect more support. At Saturday’s game, there was a decent crowd that was relatively loud, especially on UT goals. It was a great atmosphere, one that we’d all love to see again.

Maybe a few more wins will earn UT some respect. Lynn was 9-0 coming into last week and ranked first in the country. After the loss to Tampa, they fell to 17th.

Lynn is still a very good team, but it shows how little the pollsters think of Tampa.

This week they play second-ranked Nova Southeastern on the road. If they win that, they’ll be on the road to significant SSC success.