Published On: Tue, Oct 17th, 2017

Lynn Soccer Draws Against Tampa, Remains Second in Conference

By: Jack Rubin

Lynn University Men’s Soccer played to a 2-2 draw versus the Tampa Spartans on Saturday, a game that saw the Fighting Knights lead for over 25 minutes. The No. 9 Knights remain in second place in the Sunshine State Conference with a record of 9-1-1.

Tampa jumped out to a quick lead on the heels of a Juancho Fernandez goal in the 6th minute. Lynn entered halftime trailing, but it took the Fighting Knights just twenty seconds to find the back of the net in the second half. The goal was junior Tomer Bitton’s third of the year, matching his totals from his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Senior Alun Webb gave the Knights the lead in the 60th minute on a penalty kick. The goal was his team-leading seventh of the season. Webb is a perfect 3-3 on penalty kicks in 2017. Lynn’s lead held until the 87th minute, when Tampa’s Knut Soeren Hovet scored on a header to level it at two.

Although Lynn outshot the Spartans 19-14, Tampa recorded one more shot on goal than the Knights, plus four corner kicks to Lynn’s zero.

The game also marked defenseman Simon Kraemer’s season debut. The German’s presence was felt as he assisted on Bitton’s goal in the 46th minute.

The Knights’ record against Tampa under manager John Rootes moved to 9-6-2 after the game. It was Lynn’s first draw of the season, improving their point total to fifteen, though it was not the three points the Knights desired from the game.

Lynn remains ninth in the country in Division II soccer. Fellow Sunshine State Conference foes Palm Beach Atlantic and Florida Tech also fifth and twelfth, respectively. Palm Beach Atlantic handed Lynn their only loss of the season in a 1-0 game on October 4. Lynn trails Atlantic by three points in the Sunshine State Conference.

The Fighting Knights will travel to Melbourne to take on Florida Tech in a massive conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

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