UT men’s soccer coach Adrian Bush began his fifth season victoriously on Aug. 27 at Pepin Field. The No. 3 Spartans defeated Florida Memorial University 2-1 in their 2009 debut on a humid Friday evening following a two-hour rain delay.
The Spartans (1-0) outshot the Lions (1-1) 8-5 in the first half, but the defenses held strong and neither team could score. Pascal Milien, UT’s leading scorer last season, sparked the offensive attack with the game’s first goal at the 50:57 mark. The assist was credited to senior defenseman Kyle Williams.
Twenty minutes after Milien found the net, Florida Memorial’s Bernard Pierre Louis found Jayson Maltes, who fired the ball past senior goalkeeper Ryan Thompson to tie the game. A few minutes later at 73:48, Milien struck again, shooting past FMU goalie Rubiel Vasquez to put Tampa up for good.
Beginning his quest to repeat as conference Defensive Player of the Year, Thompson totaled four saves on eight Lions shots. Vasquez saved eight of 14, but took the loss thanks to Milien’s second-half onslaught.
A scheduled match at Palm Beach Atlantic in West Palm Beach was postponed Aug. 29 due to unplayable field conditions. A make-up date is yet to be announced.
UT travels next to Clayton State (Atlanta, Ga.) for a Sept. 4 meeting. Game time is 7:30 p.m.