Colleges: Ingvarsson named First Team Division II All-American

The University of Tampa’s Dan Ingvarsson was named to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-America team, leading a group of four Spartans honored this season.

Ingvarsson provided not only stability in the center of the Spartans defense with Kyle Williams, but was also a key to the Spartans offense with his free kicks. Ingvarsson scored five goals, and added seven assists, primarily from set pieces as the Spartans reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Also honored were forward Pascal Milien, who was named to the second team after leading the Spartans with 12 goals and 31 points for the season, and Lister Warren, who had 11 goals to be named to the third team. Goalkeeper Ryan Thompson, who was previously named the Sunshine State Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, was an honorable mention.

College Matchday: No.10 Tampa at No.9 Lees-McRae

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m., Banner Elk, N.C.

NEED TO KNOW: The University of Tampa will try to return to the NCAA Division II Final Four for the second consecutive season as the Spartans travel to face Lees-McRae.

The Bobcats are led by Berin Boracic, who was named the Southeast Region Player of the Year on Tuesday after scoring 15 goals and adding eight assists this season. The Bobcats also saw defenders Luke Duffy and Dale Parker and goalkeeper Sean Paradise named to the Southeast first team, an indicator of the strength the Bobcats possess at the back.

Tampa’s Pascal Milien will be the key player charged with breaking down that defense for the Spartans. Milien has been spectacular this season, scoring 12 goals and adding seven assists, using his speed and skill to break down opposing defenses. He has been ably assisted by Lister Warren, who has added 11 goals, and Greg O’Connor, who has recorded seven assists. Also with seven assists is Dan Ingvarsson, who will likely play a critical role in trying to close down Boracic, and also in creating chances for the Spartans from set pieces.

Colleges: Spartans move into South Region semifinals

Pascal Milien and Jordan Moses scored first-half goals as the University of Tampa moved into the South Regional semifinal of the NCAA Division II Men's Tournament with a 3-1 victory against Lynn.

“Very pleased,” Spartans coach Adrian Bush said. “It’s just a step further, a step closer to our goal. Sunday isn’t going to be an easy game by any means, but I’m very happy.”

Milien gave the Spartans the lead in the eighth minute, but the Fighting Knights hit back 11 minutes later as Paolo Vaz made the score 1-1. Moses restored the Spartans’ lead in the 29th minute, turning the ball home after Dan Ingvarsson had hit the crossbar and Lister Warren had a pair of shots blocked.

“It was a fantastic rebound,” Bush said. “There was probably thre or four that were initially blocked, and Jordan got in under control and just buried it. A great goal from him, and he’s a guy who started off injured, and he’s really starting to come into his own now. I’m really happy for him for what he did, he was outstanding tonight.”

The Spartans controlled good portions of the game, and that led to some frustrations for Lynn, which had six players shown yellow cards during the game. Bush said he thought the key to the game was the Spartans’ preparation that allowed them to make the correct adjustment to anything the Fighting Knights threw at them.

“They really went out an executed perfectly,” Bush said. “We talked about three or four different scenarios, if Lynn did this, how would we counter, and we were ready for anything they threw at us, and I think that was the difference in the game.”

Milien went close to extending the Spartans lead in the 64th minute as his fierce left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area came back off the post after he had cut in from the right side, but Tampa put the game away in the final minute as Chris O’Brien scored off a rebound of Milien’s initial shot.

The end of their season caused emotions to spill over for Lynn’s players, of whom two, Gabe Taboada and Christian Donert, were shown red cards after the game ended.

The Spartans will now face host Rollins on Sunday at 1 p.m. after the Tars defeated Barry 1-0 in overtime in the second game of the evening.

Colleges: Anderson's strike stuns Spartans, gives Barry SSC title

TAMPA – Before his No.8-ranked University of Tampa side took to the field to face Barry in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament final, Spartans coach Adrian Bush said he thought that Buccaneers midfielder Mark Anderson was the best player not only in the conference, but in the entire South region.

With the game scoreless with six minute to play, Anderson’s brilliant 25-yard volley not only backed Bush’s statement, but also gave the Buccaneers the championship.

Mark Kilpatrick added a second goal four minutes later to give the Buccaneers their first SSC Tournament title since 2002, and fourth overall, with a 2-0 victory at Pepin-Rood Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Anderson’s goal came like a bolt from the blue. An angled cross from the right side was headed away by Tampa’s Kyle Williams, but it came to Anderson, who fired his first-time left-footed volley low into the right corner of the net, Spartans goalkeeper Ryan Thompson frozen to his line as the fantastic strike flashed into the net.

“I anticipated it, it fell to my left foot, my weaker foot,” Anderson said. “Lucky enough, it went straight in.”

Anderson then assisted on Mark Kilpatrick’s counter-attack goal in the 87th minute, Zach Fraser’s shot getting blocked to give the Bucs a two-on-one the other way as the Spartans pushed forward for an equalizer. Kilpatrick picked up Anderson’s pass just inside his own half and took it to the edge of the penalty area before sliding his shot underneath an advancing Thompson to make it 2-0.

That it was still scoreless in the final 10 minutes laid at the feet of the Spartans, who could, and quite probably should, have been ahead by that point. Pascal Milien had a close-range header go off the firm Pepin-Rood surface over the crossbar, and then had a shot blocked after a great move begun by Greg O’Connor and continued by Lister Warren had put Milien in on the left in the first half.

The Spartans continued to carry the play to start the second half, Warren seeing his shot from the top of the penalty area well saved, and O’Connor beating two defenders as he cut into the penalty area from the right, only to fire his left-footed shot over the crossbar.

Milien then had an appeal for a penalty turned down after he had picked up the ball at midfield, sped past two defenders down the left side and was clattered into by a Barry defender in the penalty area. Referee Shane Moody saw it as a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, though, allowing play to continue. Fraser then saw his shot from eight yards go over after a good cross by Brian Fekete on the left.

As the game went on, the Spartans frustration at a lack of a goal became more evident, and they were deeply unhappy after the final whistle blew.

“This is hard,” Milien said. “This is the worst moment for me playing soccer, when I played on my home field, and I see the other team celebrating on my home field, that’s hurting me. But at the end of the day, this is the game of soccer. We’ve got to put this behind us and then move forward.”

Those celebration were sweet for Buccaneers coach Steve McCrath, who said his young side had matured after falling 2-1 to the Spartans back in September. The Buccaneers have now won 10 of their last 11 games entering the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.

“I think we matured after our game against Tampa the first time,” McCrath said. “From that point on, I think we were much better than a (SSC Tournament) four-seed, but the point is that this team, young as it is, is probably just as strong as anybody in the conference at the top. I think we could all be rated the No.1 team.”

Bush said he was disappointed to lose, but gave credit to the Buccaneers for their victory.

“I think to win championships, you have to come out with championship emotion,” Bush said. “In my opinion, they deserved to win the game based on (the fact that) they wanted to win more than our guys. I’m very, very disappointed in our guys, and now we get to find out what sort of character we’ve got.”

The Spartans were hoping a victory would allow them to be a host site for the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament. Now they will have to wait and see whether they have to travel, and if so where, for the opening weekend of the tournament when the bracket is announced on Monday evening.

College Matchday: Barry at No.8 Tampa

WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m., Pepin-Rood Stadium

NEED TO KNOW: The University of Tampa will try to win its second Sunshine State Conference tournament title when it takes on Barry. The Spartans previously won the title in 2007, and enter Sunday’s final as the favorite after their 3-0 victory against Nova Southeastern in Friday’s semifinal.

Lister Warren continued his recent run of form against the Sharks, and has now scored five goals in the last two goals. That has him tied with Pascal Milien for the team lead in goals, as both now have 11. The Spartans earned a 2-1 victory over the Buccaneers in their prior meeting this season, Brian Fekete and Milien scoring the goals for the Spartans on that occasion.

The Buccaneers advanced to the final with a 1-0 win against No.1 seed Rollins on Friday, the goal coming with just under three minutes to play. The Buccaneers are the only side to defeat the Tars this season, earning victory in the regular season in addition to Friday’s victory. The Spartans will need to watch out for Mark Anderson, who has scored 15 goals in 19 games this season.

Colleges: Spartans advance to SSC championship game

If the University of Tampa needed a reminder of what could happen in its Sunshine State Conference semifinal against Nova Southeastern, it had only to watch the first game played at Pepin-Rood Stadium on Friday night.

There, the No.4 seed Barry scored in the 87th minute to defeat No.1 seed Rollins to earn its place in Sunday’s final.

The No.2 seed Spartans had no such difficulty with the No.6 seed Sharks as Lister Warren scored twice off first half set pieces to lead Tampa to a 3-0 victory.

Tampa took the lead in the 11th minute as Warren headed home from Pascal Milien’s corner kick. The Spartans then doubled their lead in the 33rd minute, Dan Ingvarsson’s free kick allowing Warren to head home again.

The Sharks forced more pressure in the second half, but were unable to cut into the Spartans lead as SSC Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Thompson made seven saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season. Milien added the Spartans third goal of the night with 15 minute to play, giving the Spartans the opportunity to win their second SSC title in three years.

The Spartans will face the Buccaneers at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at Pepin-Rood Stadium. Tampa defeated Barry 2-1 in the regular season meeting between the two teams in September, Milien and Brian Fekete scoring for Tampa.

Colleges: Spartans appreciate honors, but focused on Sharks

TAMPA – While the individual accolades seven of the No.8-ranked University of Tampa’s players received on Thursday were appreciated, it didn’t take any focus away from the task the Spartans face on Friday night against Nova Southeastern in the semifinals of the Sunshine State Conference tournament at Pepin-Rood Stadium.

“We’ve had accolades, four guys All-American last year, and I think as a group we’ve been pretty humble about the things that come our way,” Spartans coach Adrian Bush said. “We recognize that it’s a great accomplishment for those guys, but in the big scheme of things we’re more worried about our group success as a team, and I think in the end if you’re to win a championship, that’s more important than any individual accolade.”

Ryan Thompson echoed his coach. Now a two-time SSC Defensive Player of the Year, the Spartans senior goalkeeper is more concerned with picking up silverware in December than in November.

“It’s good,” Thompson said, “but at the end of the day if you don’t have that ring, it doesn’t matter, it means nothing.”

The Spartans appeared relaxed as they worked out on Thursday afternoon. Bush said he thought that came from the experience the older players in his side had, and that their influence was rubbing off on the younger players in the squad.

“We’ve been in this situation the last three years we’ve been in the conference semifinal, the last two years, now three years, we’re going to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Bush said. “We returned every one of our guys that experienced the final four last year, so the experience is very good, I think it really helps the younger guys to stay relaxed, to maintain their focus on understanding what this really is. There’s a lot of times where you can get caught up in this stuff.”

And that’s the last thing the Spartans want to do against a Nova Southeastern squad that already pulled one upset. The No.6-seed Sharks defeated No.3-seed Lynn in a penalty shootout after the teams played to a 2-2 tie on Tuesday, and Thompson is expecting a tough battle.

“Any team on any given day can defeat any other team,” Thompson said, “so we personally know that Nova is a very good team, and we’re not going to take them lightly. We’re going to come and play them the same way we play every other team in this conference.”

In their previous meeting this season, the Spartans jumped on the Sharks early, Lister Warren scoring twice as Tampa romped to a 6-1 victory. Pascal Milien said that the biggest thing will be for the Spartans to come out as strongly as they did in that game to put their stamp on the game.

“The last time we played against them, we came out strong and ready to play, and that’s the reason why we won the game,” Milien said. “They didn’t expect that, they have a good team, but we came out as a team strong and ready to win, and that’s what happened. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be focused the same way. I’m pretty sure it’ll be a good game.”

Colleges: Warren leads No.9 Spartans rout of Lions

TAMPA – For 45 minutes, Saint Leo’s men’s soccer team was able to play with the No.9-ranked University of Tampa.

Then, in a 15 minute span to start the second half, the Spartans were incisive with their play, and decisive with their finishing.

Lister Warren recorded a hat trick as Tampa scored four times in the opening 16 minutes of the second half on its way to a 5-1 victory on Thursday night at Pepin-Rood Stadium that sealed a share of the Sunshine State Conference regular season title.

The rout took shape in the 49th minute, when Karl Swan won a challenge in midfield, the ball deflecting to Warren in the center circle. Warren looked up and saw Swan had continued to move forward, and he slotted a pass into the right channel to find the midfielder, and Swan finished low into the left corner of the net to put the Spartans up 2-0.

Warren scored his second goal of the night seven minutes later as a long cross from the left by Brian Fekete was headed down by Greg O’ Connor, and Warren lifted his volley over the advancing goalkeeper and into the net.

Zach Fraser then created Warren’s hat trick in the 57th minute, stealing the ball in Saint Leo’s half before sending an excellent cross from the right side into the penalty area, finding an unmarked Warren for a free header into the left corner of the net.

O’Connor made it 5-0 three minutes later as he broke the Lions offside trap on a through ball by Pascal Milien, and made no mistake with his finish.

“We weren’t happy with a lot of the stuff that was going on in the first half, and give Saint Leo credit, I think they did a good job,” Spartans coach Adrian Bush said. “I think they really came out with emotion, and that’s what we talked about, and I’m very pleased with how we responded in the second half against a good team.”

Warren had opened the scoring in the 20th minute, finishing a move that saw Milien drive down the right flank before crossing into the penalty area to O’Connor. Warren created an overlap on the left side of the penalty area, and after receiving a pass from O’Connor finished strongly.

Warren paid tribute to his teammates for their creation of the chances he was afforded.

“It’s all about the team,” Warren said. “I scored the goals, but I give credit to the person who passed the ball in. It’s always a team game.”

Milien in particular was excellent, using his pace and skill to create opportunities for his teammates and himself. While he wasn’t able to find the back of the net, it wasn’t for lack of trying as he had 13 of the Spartans 30 shots, seven of which were on target.

“He was active, we really went after him, talked at half time with him about being more active,” Bush said. “He’s a game-changer. Pascal is one of the top players in the country, and I think he showed it tonight. I think it’s unfortunate he didn’t get a goal, but if you look at the production of what he did, it’s not just about scoring goals. He was one of the men of the match definitely tonight.”

Saint Leo pulled a consolation goal back late, a poor free kick by Tampa allowing Odyss Economides to find Jonathan Glenn for a 84th minute goal, but the goal was the only shot on goal the Lions managed in the second half as they were outshot 21-2 after the break by the Spartans.

Tampa had already received good news before the game began, as Rollins won the women’s SSC regular season title. As such, while the Rollins men were in line to host the SSC final four as the No.1 seed, SSC regulations don’t allow the men’s and women’s tournament to be held at the same location. That means the Spartans will host the SSC Men’s Tournament, where they will face the winner of Lynn and Nova Southeastern next Friday.

Warren said he was looking forward to try and win an SSC title on the Spartans’ home field.

“Home advantage is always a positive,” Warren said. “You have the crowd, you are familiar with the turf and everything. Let’s hope we come out the victors.”

Colleges: Milien goal edges No.9 Spartans past Panthers

Pascal Milien scored his 10th goal of the season, and Ryan Thompson made a pair of crucial late saves as No.9 Tampa defeated Florida Tech 1-0 to move into a tie with Rollins for first place in the Sunshine State Conference.

With the game deadlocked entering the second half, the Spartans had a strong spell of pressure in the first 10 minutes after the break, Brian Fekete and Ryan Griffin both forcing saves from Florida Tech goalkeeper Derrick Hackett. The game continued to flow back and forth until the 79th minute when Lister Warren found Milien on the left side, and he fired his shot into the left side of the net to the Spartans the lead.

The Panthers tried to rally, Naru Wild-Putsorn shooting over the bar and Nicolas Garcia having his shot blocked before their best chance came in the 88th minute. Peter Mindley had his shot saved by Thompson, who then recovered in time to stop David Tufft’s chance on the rebound.

According to Spartans coach Adrian Bush, Thompson was a game-time decision before kickoff, but his six saves earned the senior his third shutout of the season.

"The difference-maker today was Ryan Thompson," Bush said. "To come into today as a game time decision and for him to deliver that type of performance is nothing short of amazing."

The Spartans face their final non-conference game of the season against Johnson and Wales on Monday before closing the regular season against rival Saint Leo on Thursday night. The Spartans could have a chance to win the SSC regular season title after Rollins lost its first game of the season 2-0 to Barry on Saturday night, leaving both sides with 18 points in the standings with one game to play.

College Matchday: No.9 Tampa at Florida Tech

WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m., Rick Stottler Field

NEED TO KNOW: The No.9-ranked Spartans will try to keep the pressure on Rollins in the Sunshine State Conference title race when they travel to Melbourne to take on the Panthers.

The Spartans (11-1-1, 5-1-0 SSC) exploded offensively for six goals in their last outing against Nova Southeastern, Lister Warren and Greg Sasser each scoring twice in a 6-1 victory, continuing a trend that has seen Tampa average four goals per game in their last four contests.

The Spartans attack will likely test a Panthers defense that has allowed 1.50 goals per game this season. Florida Tech snapped a two-game losing run with a victory last Saturday against Nova Southeastern, but that was only the Panthers second SSC victory this season. The Panthers (7-7-0, 2-4-0) are led by Stanley Abade, who has scored seven goals this season.

Colleges: No.9 Spartans hit Sharks for six

Lister Warren scored twice in the first half, and Greg Sasser scored his first two goals of the season in the second as No.9 Tampa romped past Nova Southeastern 6-1 at the NSU Soccer Complex on Wednesday night.

Warren gave the Spartans the lead in the 15th minute before Greg O’Connor scored his second of the season two minutes later, driving home a shot from just outside the penalty area.

Warren added his second on the half-hour mark as the Spartans completely controlled the first half, allowing the Sharks only two shots on goal.

NSU did find the net just before the hour mark, Romain Onteniente heading home from Tim Taylor’s corner, but the Spartans regained their three-goal advantage when Pascal Milien scored in the 70th minute.

Sasser, brought on as a substitute for Warren, then scored twice in the final five minutes to complete the rout.

Tampa remains on the road this weekend as it travels to face Florida Tech at 4 p.m. on Saturday before closing the regular season with a pair of home games against Johnson and Wales and Saint Leo.

Colleges: No.9 Tars hand No.2 Spartans first defeat

A pair of late first half goals, and another early in the second, put a major dent in the University of Tampa’s Sunshine State Conference title hopes as No.9 Rollins remained undefeated with a 3-2 defeat of the No.2 Spartans at Cahall-Landspur Field on Friday night.

The loss was Tampa’s first of the season, and they would now need the Tars to slip up in one of their final two games against Barry or Florida Southern in order to try and claim a share of the title.

Tampa (10-1-1, 4-1-0 SSC) opened well, as both Lister Warren and Pascal Milien were denied goals by Rollins goalkeeper Aaron Rokeach within the first 10 minutes. While Tampa controlled the flow of the game, though, it didn’t prevent the Tars from finding opportunities, and they finally took advantage in the 40th minute as a long-range effort by Jacob DeLoach screamed into the right side of the net.

The Tars (14-0-1) doubled their advantage just three minutes later, as J.D. Gruenewald scored his team-high ninth goal of the season, his shot eluding Tampa goalkeeper Ryan Thompson before creeping over the goal line.

Tampa tried to regroup, but Rollins maintained its pressure to start the second half, Thompson making three saves to start the half. The Tars scored again in the 55th minute, though, as DeLoach’s corner found Jack Clifford for a header into the net.

The Spartans responded quickly, as Dan Ingvarsson scored his third goal in two games in the 57th minute. As he had against Eckerd on Tuesday, Ingvarsson bent a free kick into the net from just outside the penalty area.

Tampa continued to try to mount a comeback, and got a second goal through Greg O’Connor to set up a frantic final four minutes. The Spartans were unable to create another opportunity to tie the game, however, sending the capacity crowd into celebration.

Colleges: No.2 Tampa gets tested, but pulls away from Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG – With a pivotal game coming up on Friday for the University of Tampa, it could have been easy for the No.2-ranked Spartans to overlook their game on Tuesday night against an Eckerd team that had lost its previous two conference games.

The Tritons, though, gave the Spartans a tough test for the first 45 minutes before a pair of goals and a sending off in the second half allowed Tampa to earn a 4-1 victory at the Turley Athletic Complex.

“We’ve really focused on taking each game and breaking each game down,” Spartans coach Adrian Bush said. “To look ahead to Friday would have been very easy to do, and I think they came in with the right mentality and focus to get the job done tonight.

“I’m happy for our players because I know how hard they’ve worked to get the result that they got, because it could have been an easy let-down. But with this group, there are no let-downs. They’ve taken it in stride, they’ve beaten some very good teams, and it’s last game, next game for us. That’s all we really focus on.”

Tampa (10-0-1, 4-0-0 SSC) took the lead with a well-worked goal in the seventh minute, a long ball finding Pascal Milien on the right 30 yards from goal. Milien cut inside, and passed to Lister Warren at the top of the penalty area, who flicked the ball on to Ryan Griffin. With the defense pulled out of position, Griffin played the ball to Dominic Goncalves, who was overlapping down the left, and he shot into the net.

Eckerd (5-7-0, 3-3-0) bounced back quickly, and Spartans goalkeeper Ryan Thompson had to be sharp to make a pair of excellent saves, tipping a curling shot over the bar from Anthony Arico and palming a shot wide from Colin Kuhn.

Off the corner following Kuhn’s effort, the Tritons found an equalizer, Kuhn’s corner kick from the right going to the far post, where it was headed back across goal by Alex Patterson for Arico to volley home from eight yards out in the 18th minute.

The Tritons time on even terms was short-lived, though, as Dan Ingvarsson’s free kick from about 45 yards out found Ryan Griffin, who flicked his header into the left corner of the net six minutes later.

Both sides had chances to add to the scoring before halftime, Dan Sheekey and Arico being denied by Thompson, and Warren hitting the crossbar for the Spartans, but it wasn’t until the second half that Tampa began to pull away.

After Milien had picked up the ball in his own half, he beat a pair of Tritons and took off down he left flank, going about 50 yards before being brought down 25 yards from goal on the left side of the penalty area. Ingvarsson stepped up and curled a beautiful free kick over the defensive wall and into the left corner of the net, putting the Spartans up 3-1 in the 51st minute.

“It was nice,” Ingvarsson said. “I was lucky last year with a few, and it’s just so great to score my first free kick goal of the season.”

Ingvarsson also scored the Spartans’ fourth after Tampa was awarded a penalty when Mike Bethel’s shot was blocked by a defender’s hand in the penalty area. Eckerd goalkeeper Domenic Spedaliere did well to save Ingvarsson’s initial shot, diving to his right to save, but Ingvarsson followed up to score on the rebound.

Nine minutes later, the Tritons were reduced to 10 men after Sheekey was shown his second yellow card of the game for a poor challenge on Brian Fekete. While the Tritons had chances to score, with a man-advantage Tampa was able to control possession for the bulk of the remainder of the game.

Eckerd coach Jeremy Wisdo thought the difference in the game was finishing.

“We felt we had a couple of chances early on that we squandered early on,” Wisdo said. “Maybe in the first three corners we had two really good chances either we didn’t get on target or their goalie made a good save on.

“I thought our service was excellent from our corners, and from most of our set pieces, and we got on the end of a lot, but we couldn’t find the back of the net.”

The Spartans now travel to face No.9 Rollins on Friday night with the winner holding the inside track to the SSC regular season title. Bush said he has a great deal of respect for the Tars, who are 13-0-1 overall and 5-0-0 in the SSC after a 1-0 victory against Lynn on Tuesday night.


“Another top-10 match-up between two very solid teams,” Bush said. “I think their No.9 ranking is not justified, I definitely think they are a Top-5 team in the country, and we look forward to a great contest.”

Colleges: Spartans cap strong week with win over Moccasins

No.3 Tampa (8-0-1, 3-0-0) cruised to a 4-0 victory against Florida Southern (1-8-0, 1-4-0) on Friday night, completing a perfect week for the Spartans, who remained undefeated on the season.

After scoring three goals in the past two games, Pascal Milien turned provider on the Spartans first two goals on Friday, finding Lister Warren close in for the opening goal in the 16th minute. Former Plant City High standout doubled the Spartans lead in the 29th minute, taking a pass from Milien at the top of the penalty area before driving into the penalty area and scoring.

Zach Fraser’s 39th minute goal from the right added a third for the Spartans before half time. The win was Tampa’s third in four days after earning victories against Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday and Webber International on Wednesday.

“Three games in four days is never easy,” Spartans coach Adrian Bush said. “It’s a credit to the guys on a great week, but now we’ve got three days to get ready for Eckerd.”

The Lions face the Tritons on Tuesday night in what is shaping up to be a critical Sunshine State Conference game. Eckerd is 3-1 in the SSC, and a win would propel them into the conference championship race.