The men’s soccer team squared off against the No.21 West Alabama Tigers in what would be a memorable day. The Spartans marched in with a solid 3-1-1 record versus the Tigers’ equally comparable 3-2 record.
The game started off slowly with West Alabama putting plenty of pressure on the goal.
The first breakthrough came in the thirtieth minute with senior Andrew Clare scoring his first goal of the season by a great assist from senior Craig Laird.
Just one minute later, junior Nikolai Hammer hammered home the second goal for the Spartans with a beautiful assist from senior Daniel Barboto.
The Spartans offense was clicking on all cylinders as they outshot West Alabama 18-9 that day. A major part of the offense was senior Alex Knaggs who had four of our 18 shots on goal.
But it wasn’t just the offense that shined on Sunday, freshman goalkeeper Zak Downes was perfect in goal with four fantastic saves on the afternoon.
As the game ended by a score of 2-0, the Spartans walked away with another well-deserved win. But Coach Bush had a bigger reason to celebrate.
Bush had earned his one hundredth win, a feat that has only been reached twice in the history of The University of Tampa.
Bush has been a part of Spartan athletics since his playing career began with the Spartans in 1990, and captioned the Spartans to the 1994 NCAA National Championship.
He was awarded the 1994 Adidas National Player of the Year honor for his outstanding play.
Bush was a four-time All-south region and All-SSC performer, as well as the first Spartan soccer player to be inducted into the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame in 2002.
After a short stint as an assistant coach with the Spartans, as well as coaching various teams in the area, Bush became head coach for the 2005 season. He started out his coaching career earning seven, eight, and 13 wins in his first three seasons as head coach respectively.
In Bush’s fourth season, he struck gold, leading the team to an 18-4-1 record, as well as reaching the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. His next season was just as amazing achieving a 17-3-1 record while reaching the Quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
Every season seems to be a winner for Bush and he continues to turn out great players from the programs. Over a four year span Bush watched four of his players get selected in a professional soccer draft.
When asked about recent performances, Bush said “The focus these past few weeks has been tempo and looking to be more efficient with the final product.”
Bush says he has noticed a significant increase in consistency with the overall product.
Talking about the win, Bush said, “Our senior leadership has been outstanding with the six seniors, they have done a good job of making sure the new players understand the importance of these games.”
What is a team without a coach? Every team needs a coach no matter what level of sport you are playing. Whether it’s recreational, middle school, college, professional, or even intramural competition.
Overall, you need a coach to give you guidance and keep you organized to lead you to victory. Usually a coach has plenty of playing experience and has a vast knowledge of the ins and outs of the sport. Without one, a team will be lost.
Ed Kerner can be reached at edward.kerner@spartans.ut.edu