SJP alum Carly Niro 1G/1GB/1CTO for FIT, Gulf Breeze alum Lizzy Christ 4DCs for FIT

BOX SCORE

Senior Day Was One For The Books As Women’s Lacrosse Defeats Florida Tech

TAMPA, Fla. The No. 7 Tampa Spartans pounced on the No. 20 Florida Tech Panthers after honoring nine seniors for their accomplishments and dedication to the program. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first quarter of the top-20 matchup was dominated by the Spartans on both ends of the field. Within the first three minutes, Sarah Hinkle found the back of the net off a pass from Cece Colombo to get Tampa on the scoreboard first. A few plays later, Georgia Glowaki would earn a man-up goal after Panther player, Ashley Walter, was issued a yellow card. Now leading the game 2-0, Tampa would have three consecutive goals in the span of two minutes by Hinkle, Riley McGettigan, and Gracie Colombo, respectively. The Spartans continued to stay on the attack as Gracie Colombo would tally her second goal of the day off a pass from Peyton Howell. As the game clock continued to wind down, Hinkle would rip a shot pass the Florida Tech goalie to give Tampa an 7-0 lead before ending the period, making her the first Spartan of the day to earn a hat trick. On the other end of the field, the Spartan’s defense had a solid first quarter performance as Lexi Waters caused three out of five turnovers and helped the defense hold the Panthers scoreless. 

After some back and forth action in the early minutes of the second quarter, Glowaki tacks on her second goal of the day from the free position spot. Less than a minute after, Florida Tech acquired their first and only goal of the period by Karly Liebendorfer. The Spartans continued to find openings in the Panthers defense as Mary Kate Person would score back-to-back goals, with one assisted by Gracie Colombo at the 4:23 mark. Graduate midfielder Allie Peebles would get herself involved in the action by scoring an unassisted goal. In a similar fashion, Hinkle would help extend Tampa’s lead to 12-1 by finding the back of the net for the fourth time before heading into the break. 

The No. 7 Spartans continued their momentum as they would go on to score four out of the six goals from the third quarter. Gracie Colombo tacked another goal to the scoreboard, to make her the second Spartan of the day to earn a hat trick. Person would follow suit as she would score a man-up goal after Howell found her on the inside, making it her first career hat trick as a Spartan. After Person’s goal, Cece Colombo would go to the center to win her fourth draw control of the game, making her the program’s newest all-time draw control leader. Jenna Myhal and Hinkle would be the two other Spartans to score, as Myhal secured her first goal from the free position spot while Hinkle nabbed a solo goal to make it her 49th goal this season. The fourth quarter did not see much action as Tampa could only tack on two more goals to their extensive 16- 2 lead. After becoming the new leader in draw controls, Cece Colombo nabbed her first goal and only goal of the day, unassisted. Senior Kayla Brennan also scored a solo goal, making it her first goal of the day and season. Tampa would win the game 18-3, making it a great senior day.  

Stat of the Game – Cece Colombo becomes the program’s newest all-time draw control leader with 306 career draw controls. 

TAMPA POST-GAME NOTES 

• Tampa earns their third conference win and improves to 10-3 overall on the season. 
• Hinkle led the game in goals scored with five goals.  
• Person earns her first career hat trick as a Spartan.  
• Brennan scored her first goal of the season. 
• UT went 14-18 on clears.
• Cece Colombo would become the newest all-time leader in draw controls for the Tampa Women’s Lacrosse program.
• Tampa honored nine seniors who competed in their second to last regular home season game.  

UP NEXT – The Spartans will be hitting the road to Boca Raton to battle the Fighting Knights this Wednesday at 3:00 PM.

*****

No.7 Spartans Cruise Past No.20 Panthers

by Alex Henderson

MELBOURNE, Fla. – No.20 Florida Tech women’s lacrosse headed to the Gulf Coast on Saturday, April 6th to take on No.7 Tampa at Naimoli Stadium. The Spartans came away with the big win by a score of 18-3.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #20 Florida Tech 3, #7 Tampa 18
Record Florida Tech (7-7, 1-3 SSC) | Tampa (10-3, 3-1 SSC)
Locations: Naimoli Stadium | Tampa, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER:

• The Spartans opened the game by scoring seven unanswered goals in the first quarter.
• Tampa’s big first-quarter run was highlighted by Sarah Hinkle who recorded three goals and one assist in the first 15-minutes of play.

SECOND QUARTER:

• Tampa extended their streak to eight unanswered goals before a shot from Karly Liebendorfer would get the Panthers on the board to make it an 8-1 game.
• Tech could not find the back of the net for the remainder of the half as the Spartans scored four straight goals to end the second and take a 12-1 lead entering the half.
• Mary Kate Person led the Spartans second quarter offense with two goals.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Tampa started the second half by finding the back of the net three times to extend their lead to 15-1.
• Caroline Finn was Tech’s second goal scored of the game to make it 16-2 and stop the Spartan’s seven unanswered goals steak.
• Jenna Myhal of Tampa was the last woman to score in the third to make it a 16-2 game following 45 minutes of play.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• The Panthers would hold the Spartans to just two goals in the fourth quarter.
• Carly Niro would score the Final goal of the game as Tampa walked away with the 18-3 win.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Phoebe Hurt finished with four ground balls and three caused turnovers with three draw-control wins.
• Lizzy Christ recorded four draw-control wins for Tech.
• Carly Niro was 1-1 on free-position shots.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Florida Tech is now 5-5 all-time against Tampa.
• Tampa outshot Florida Tech 33-17 with the Spartans recording 25 shots on goals to Tech’s 11 shots on goal.
• Tampa made eight saves to Tech’s seven.
• Florida Tech turned the ball over 14 times while the Spartans recorded nine turnovers.
• The Panthers were 8-9 on clear attempts while Tampa went 14-18.
• The Spartans picked up 22 ground balls while Tech recorded 14 ground balls.
• Florida Tech won 13 of the 24 total draw controls.
• Tampa scored 3-4 on free position shots while Tech scored 1-5 at the arc.

UP NEXT: The Panthers will return to action on Wednesday, April 10^th when they head back west to Lakeland, Fla. to take on Florida Southern. The first draw is scheduled for 7:00 P.M.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay updated on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.