Preps

Tampa men's soccer strives for greatness again

By DAVID NORRIE, Times Correspondent
Published November 8, 2007

When the University of Tampa defeated top-ranked Lynn on Sept. 29, it was the biggest win of coach Adrian Bush's young tenure. When the Spartans put up an identical 4-2 victory at Lynn on Sunday, capturing the Sunshine State Conference tournament championship, it was a signal a once-storied program looking to regain its stability was back on track.

"As an alum, that's what this program is based on, championships," Bush said. "A lot of these players came here when things weren't good, but they believed in the history of the program and the staff and where we were headed."

Tampa has won 14 SSC titles but Sunday's win marked the first since the tournament was re-established in 2003.

Only six seasons ago the men's soccer team notched its third national championship following a 19-0-2 season.

But the turmoil that followed has made it seem more distant.

Spartans coach Keith Fulk left to take a Division I position at West Virginia after the 2001 season. His replacement, Dawson Driscoll, pieced together 14 wins in two seasons before resigning with four games left in the 2003 season.

The search for a new coach landed a surprising replacement. Tom Fitzgerald, the legendary Tampa native who led the Spartans to a national championship in 1994, was just one year removed from capturing the Division I national title at UCLA.

The excitement over his desire to return home and reunite with his former team was short-lived. Fitzgerald coached just one seasonbefore he was killed in a motorcycle accident while on a recruiting trip in December 2004.

Then came Bush, another UT alum who was the 1994 national player of the year under Fitzgerald, his mentor. After going 7-7-3 and 8-9-1 in his first two seasons, Bush led Tampa to 12 wins this year, the most since 2001. With three seasons to his credit, the stability appears to be back. As for a time line for the Spartans' return to the pinnacle of Division II soccer, Bush says there isn't one.

"As a coach, you always think you can win right away, but it does take time," he said. "But I could start to see things take shape towards the end of last season and I think it just carried over."

The Spartans are the second seed in the South Regional Tournament that begins Friday. And they get a third matchup against Lynn in the opening round.

In a region from which many expect a potential national champion could emerge, Bush says the Spartans have a tall order but the chemistry to do it.

"Talent is always a factor and we have good talent," he said. "But chemistry and group success play a huge part as well, and I think here at Tampa we have the right kind of players. We have to keep growing but certainly, as a whole, the measuring stick here is winning national championships."

WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM HOSTS REGIONAL: Tampa's women captured their third consecutive SSC tournament championship Sunday, defeating Saint Leo 1-0 on Marissa Mohammed's winning goal in the 93rd minute.

The Spartans (16-2-2, 6-1-1) will host the three-team NCAA South Regional, which begins Friday and includes Ouachita Baptist and Nova Southeastern.

Those teams will meet in Round 1 Friday with the winner to play Tampa at 1 p.m. Sunday. The winner of the regional advances to the four-team NCAA quarterfinals Nov. 16-18.

Tampa's Shelby Kuni, who assisted on Mohammed's goal and tied the program's career mark with her 51st goal in a 2-0 victory over Rollins in the semifinals, was named tournament MVP.

[Last modified November 8, 2007, 00:41:27]