MELBOURNE, FLA. - The No. 9 Lander men's soccer team continues to dance after a 2-1 victory over No. 8 University of Tampa on the campus of Florida Tech Saturday afternoon.
Max McNulty and
Carson Dinger both notched goals against the Spartans to give Lander its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2018.
Lander advances to 12-3-5 overall while Tampa sees its season end with a 7-7-3 overall record.
The Bearcats avenge their 4-2 loss to Tampa on September 10 along with posting the first-ever victory over the Spartans. The last time Lander and Tampa met in the NCAA Tournament was Nov. 18, 2001 when Tampa won 2-1.
Neither side was able to score in the first half. Lander put 2-of-4 shots on target while Tampa put 2-of-3 shots on goal in the first frame.
The first goal of the game would come in the 81st minute when Tampa was able to crack the scoreless tie with 80:23 remaining.
Lander would come roaring back with a pair of goals to crush the Spartans.
The first Bearcat strike would come in the 86th minute. After being awarded a throw-in,
Jed Smith would launch a throw into the box where
Max McNulty would head in the game-tying goal to make it a 1-1 contest for his sixth goal of the season.
About a minute and a half later,
Max Bolton would feed a pass to
Carson Dinger who'd fire a shot past the Spartans' keeper to seal the game for the Blue and Gold.
Lorenzo Ferrari made five saves to move to 9-1-3 on the year.
Lander will now take on No.1 Florida Tech on Monday, November 14 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Lander is 1-1 all-time against the Panthers. Both games were played in Melbourne, Fla., with Lander winning 3-2 in 1995 while losing 1-0 in 1996.
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