By Matthew Restrepo
TAMPA, Fla. –– On Thursday, Sept. 4, The University of Tampa Spartans won their home opener against the No. 13 West Florida Argonauts, 3-1, for the second year in a row.
The opener had a packed crowd, with both teams huddling right before kickoff. The Spartans looked calm while the Argonauts were jumping and chanting. The game kicked off at 84 degrees Fahrenheit – muggy, with clouds scattered across the sky.
The Spartans scored early with Felix Poschmann, junior midfielder, getting an unassisted goal in the sixth minute. He received a yellow card in the 11th minute. Another goal came in the 19th minute from Rodrigo Lopes, senior forward, and an assist from Christian Fairchild, junior forward. The Argonauts had their only goal in the 21st minute, scored by sophomore defender Andrey Gentil, with an assist by junior midfielder Rafael Esteves. The rest of the half saw multiple shots by the Argonauts, including four from graduate forward Manu Bernabeu.
After the game, Lopes said that at halftime, Head Coach Adrian Bush told them, “Don’t let them play, press high because if they don’t breathe, they will – they will not play, and they will recover the ball closer to the goal and we’re gonna score.”
Cherif Tammar, senior midfielder, added that Bush also told them to play their own game and bring the energy.
The second half opened with the only goal early on from Oscar Warne, senior forward, and assisted by Viggo Svedin, senior midfielder. Gregor Geru, senior forward, gave the Spartans one last chance for another goal, which was saved by junior goalkeeper Edward Alonzi.
The Spartans had 11 shots, six of which were on target. The Argonauts had 10 shots, but only two of those were on goal. Two of the Spartans’ goals came from new players – Warne and Poschmann.
The Spartans had two assists and eight corner kicks, while the Argonauts had one assist and five corner kicks. There were three yellow cards given to each team, 16 fouls for the Spartans, and 13 given to the Argonauts.
Before the match, Associate Head Coach Maurice Loregnard didn’t think there were many changes to the team from last year.
“I just think that there’s a lot more experience, which potentially leads to leadership, and I think the leadership of this team is in a better position, I believe, to guide the group to potentially more victories,” said Loregnard. “A lot of the guys we are going to lean on are going to be upperclassmen.”
Sebastian Rodriguez, junior forward, said he is new to the team and that the experience of returning players helps.
“The experience from the leaders obviously brings mentorship maturity, like very mature players that already know how the conference is, how to finish games, how to win games, and just having that boost and leadership really helps,” said Rodriguez. “We can really use that against other oppositions.”
All of the starters played previously with the team last fall or have been on another team.
“The staff brought in guys that are used to higher-level games,” said Tammar. “We’re going to try to use that experience from the returners and from the new guys to do our best this year to bring back a title here.”
Elsewhere in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC), Lynn, Nova Southeastern, and Palm Beach Atlantic won. Saint Leo lost, and Barry tied their opponent.
The Spartans play their next game against the No. 21 Auburn Montgomery Warhawks, who came away with a 3-1 win in their first game against Saint Leo. This home game will take place on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 11 a.m. This is the only other currently ranked opponent on the Spartans’ schedule.
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Spartans celebrating after goal. Photo courtesy of Tyler Witkowski.