Photo and release courtesy of TampaSpartans.com Tampa, FLA -The Tampa Spartans dropped a heartbreaking game to Limestone College on Saturday afternoon by a score of 17-6. This defeat gives UT their first loss of the year as they now stand at (2-1) on the season. The contest was the opening game for Limestone’s 2014-15 campaign. Limestone jumped ahead quick cashing in five goals in the second period to give them a 6-3 lead at the half. Whipple’s squad came out in the second eager and prepared: however, the Saints offense proved to be too much as they spread the Tampa defense thin as they scored four of their six third period goals from the edge of the offensive zone. Vinny Ricci and Mike Messenger, spearheaded Limestone’s offense as Ricci scored six goals and Messenger put away five goals of his own. The Tampa attack was led by Junior Matt Bilak as he netted four against the defending champs. Sophomore Connor Whipple added a goal of his own along with tallying an assist for the Spartans. The Spartans attack had no room to execute their game plan as the Saints clogged the middle of the offensive zone. This caused problems for UT as they could never get any continuity or flow going on the offensive end. Midfielder John McGowan’s foul against limestone’s Coltin Moseman towards the beginning of the fourth period proved to be very costly as it resulted in the Spartans playing a man down for two minutes. During that stretch the Saints put away two goals, which ultimately put the game out of reach for UT. The Spartans return to action on February 28th at Namoli Stadium for the conference opener against Rollins college the game time is set for a 1:00 PM EST start. Live stats and Broadcast will be available to fans to follow along online at TampaSpartans.TV Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instragram (tampaspartans). UT also offers blast, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.   Visit tampaspartans.com for the latest news and info on University of Tampa Athletics.