via Tampa press release   TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 7 ranked University of Tampa women’s lacrosse team hosted the Lynn University Fighting Knights. The Spartans defense led the way for Tampa’s fifth victory of the year. INSIDE THE MATCHUP: Final: #7 Tampa 17, Lynn 6 Records: Tampa 5-1 (4-1 SSC), Lynn 1-3 (1-3 SSC) Location: Naimoli Family Athletic Complex | Tampa, Fla. HOW IT HAPPENED: FIRST HALF Lizzie Pierpont scored the opening goal of the game (assisted by Cece Colombo), jumpstarting a Spartan attack the scored three goals in the first three minutes of the game. Genie Santarpio, Tampa’s leading goal scorer, scored the Spartans next two goals at 28:14 (assisted by Cece Colombo) and in a solo effort on the free position shot at 26:46. Lynn answered at 25:14 to make the score 3-1 Tampa. The Pierpont and Cece Colombo show continued, as Cece Colombo scored on the woman-down for a 4-1 Tampa lead. Emma McLoughlin added her fifth goal of the season, 5-1 Tampa, followed by Pierpont’s second at the 16:11 mark. Lynn scored once more, 6-2 Tampa. Santarpio netted another, assisted by Pierpont, and Cece Colombo followed shortly thereafter for an 8-2 Spartans lead with 14:02 left. Lynn scored the next two goals to trim Tampa’s lead to four, 8-4 Tampa at the 8:46 minute. Lauren McNeill (assisted by Cece Colombo) and Olivia Mott (assisted by McNeill) closed the first half with two final goals. Score: 10-4 Tampa SECOND HALF Lynn opened the scoring to start the second frame. Tampa then scored the next six goals:

• 23:28 – Santarpio, woman-up, assisted by Cece Colombo.
• 22:23 – Santarpio on the free position shot.
• 20:33 – Sarah Hinkle on the free position shot.
• 20:10 – Emma McLoughlin on the free position shot.
• 16:25 – Kayla Brennan scored her first career goal, unassisted.
• 14:40 – Hannah Bush again on the free position shot.

Lynn scored once more, and McNeill (assisted by Cece Colombo) netted her second of the game. Score: 17-6 Tampa   INSIDE THE STATS:

• Genie Santarpio scored five goals in the game, increasing her team-leading goal total to 15 on the season.
• Cece Colombo, Tampa’s point leader, enjoyed a seven-point performance on the day, increasing her season point total to 26 (10G, 16A).
• Emma McLoughlin, Lauren McNeill, and Lizzie Pierpont each scored two goals apiece.
• Freshman Kayla Brennan scored her first career goal.
• Olivia Mott scored her eighth goal of the year, tied for third-best on the squad.
• Bridget Sutter earned her second win of the year behind a seven save performance on 13 shots.

  BEYOND THE BOX:

• The Spartans defense has only allowed double-digit goals scored in two of six games on the year.

  UP NEXT: The Spartans travel to St. Leo, Fla., to take on the Saint Leo University Lions. Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com. Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com. Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for the Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.