By Matthew Restrepo
TAMPA, Fla. — About halfway through the season, the University of Tampa Spartans have started the season with a 5-1-3 record. In their conference, they have a 1-2-2 record.
Their first loss was not until game eight when they lost to Rollins. The next game, they tied Lynn, who was the No. 1-ranked team in the country.
Rodrigo Lopes, senior forward, talked about the loss at Rollins.
“The trip back was heavy — everybody was quiet,” said Lopes. “We didn’t play our level.”
Alex Hare, senior goalkeeper, also said that the game was not their best.
Hare said that they did not play their best in the games leading up to the loss. He said they did not play well against Lincoln Memorial, even though they beat them, 3-0.
“The feeling afterwards and especially towards the end of the game was scrappy and trying to get back in the game was the toughest thing we’ve had to go through this season,” said Hare.
Head Coach Adrian Bush said, “Looking back, the effort wasn’t there from start to finish, and I think our guys learned a very valuable lesson on what our league is about,” said Bush. “It’s one thing for us to tell them about the league, but when they actually see it and they get stung by a casual start to a game, that’s when I think they realize.”
Hare thought a loss was coming because of the way they have been playing. He thought they were winning games because of individual brilliance.
The Spartans started the season with two home wins. Last year, when they played against the Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks away, they lost 2-0. This year, the Spartans won at home against them 2-1.
They then went on a road trip to Georgia, where they tied the University of North Georgia and beat Clayton State University.
Hare said that they started slow against Clayton State but had a great second half. He said they have changed their style of play, where they’ve been defending deeper since the end of last season.
This year, Hare thinks the defense is more organized than in the previous year.
Bush talked positively about the leadership of the team.
“Our leadership committee is probably the best that we’ve had, and you know, not taking anything away from the guys that have been here before,” said Bush. “You know we’ve got 17 seniors, and in that group there’s some really strong personalities that I think really made our jobs easy as coaches.”
Lopes, when speaking on the topic of leadership, said he thinks the team is more like a family than last year.
The team has added new players, many of whom have started games throughout the season.
Lopes leads the team in goals with six. The second most goals scored are by Oscar Warne and Viggo Svedin, each with two. Hare has a save percentage so far at 0.788, which is up from last season’s total of 0.753. They have had 89 shots and scored 14 goals so far.
They have played nine games and have six left during the regular season. They have already had three shutouts, which is the same as last season.
Their next game is Saturday against Florida Tech, with their last game of the regular season against Saint Leo on Saturday, Nov. 1.