The University of Tampa men’s soccer team is one of the many that holds itself to high standards of Spartan athletic excellence. However, after a slow start, they now find themselves in an 0-4 hole and looking to rebound.
“It’s not a dream start, but if we’re going to lose, it’s better to do it now rather than later,” said senior midfielder Ryan Griffin.
Indeed, now is the best time, if any, for the men to falter. They lost to two very good teams in Piedmont (3-2 in double overtime) and the fifth ranked team in the nation, Clayton State (2-1 in overtime), and both were non- conference opponents. Now, however, the toughest part of their schedule begins.
“We have broken our season into four sections, and we are now in phase two,” said head coach Adrian Bush before the home loss to Florida Memorial. “We have [three] very tough games before the end of September: at West Florida, at Rollins and at Florida Tech.”
Starting on September 17 at West Florida is when the Spartans can rebound from their tough start. A conference win against West Florida would lessen the blow of beginning the season with three losses. To win, however, they need to come together as a team and overcome something that was reiterated many times: a lack of discipline.
“We don’t play a cream puff schedule, but the main reason for our slow start is a lack of discipline,” said Bush. “For example, five of the seven goals we allowed so far have been on defensive fouls. It’s that kind of sloppy play and lack of discipline that has led to some tough losses at the end of each game.”
Echoing his coach’s sentiments, Griffin added, “We were winning both games, but we lost in overtime due to a lack of discipline.”
One thing is for sure: this team is ready to turn its season around, and the players and coaches still hold the high standards of Spartan excellence in place for themselves.
“Simply put, they are wounded,” stated Assistant Coach Neil Oughton.
That doesn’t change this team’s ultimate goal. The players are still talking about the postseason.
“Our expectation is to win a national championship,” added sophomore goalkeeper David Niepel.
And in order to win that national championship, they have to get that first win, preferably at West Florida on September 17.
Jordan Llanes can be reached at jordan.llanes@spartans.ut.edu.