via the school press releases

Colombo, Glowaki Too Much for Lions in Overtime Thriller

BOX SCORE

SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 6 ranked University of Tampa Spartans women’s lacrosse team defeated the Saint Leo University Lion’s in a 15-14 overtime thriller. Gia Colombo‘s six goal effort led the Spartan atack and Georgia Glowaki‘s overtime goal with 34 seconds left gave Tampa their sixth win of the year and extended their winning streak to three.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: #6 Tampa 15, Saint Leo 14

Records: Tampa 6-1 (5-1 SSC), Saint Leo 3-4 (2-3 SSC)

Location: University Turf Stadium | St. Leo, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

FIRST HALF

The Lions struck first in an early game of trading goals. Genie Santarpio‘s scoring prowess continued with goal number 16 on the season at the 27:55 mark to tie the game 1-1. The next three goals went SLW-UT-SLW with a goal by Gia Colombo with a helper from Cece Colombo to make the score 2-2 all. The Lions used some mid-half momentum to rattle off three goals en route to a 5-2 lead. Tampa continued to hang around and outscored Saint Leo 4-2 in the half’s final 12 minutes to keep the game close:

10:26 – Lizzie Pierpont, unassisted.

09:13 – Gia Colombo, unassisted, free position shot.

02:48 – Emma McLoughlin, unassisted.

01:10 – Mcloughlin, unassisted.

Score: 7-6 Saint Leo

SECOND HALF

Trading shots continued to be the theme of the match, as the Spartans and Lions continued delivering body blow after body blow. Saint Leo scored the first three goals of the second half, putting pressure on the Spartans to deliver. Cece Colombo—as she has done all season—got things going for the Spartans and answered the bell at the 24:46 minute with an unassisted goal to cut the Lions lead to three. Saint Leo immediately responded with a score 23 seconds later to go back up four, 11-7 with 24:23 left.

The rest of the half was almost all Tampa, with the Spartans outscoring the Lions 7-3 to end the game, including three goals in a two-minute span—all unassisted, all scored by Gia Colombo—to force overtime:

18:00 – Dani Waters, unassisted.

17:43 – Gia Colombo, unassisted.

16:26 – Santarpio, unassisted, free position shot.

12:39 – Georgia Glowaki, unassisted.

02:22, 01:54, 01:08 – Gia Colombo, unassisted.

Score: 14-14 Tied

OVERTIME

• Glowaki scored with 34 seconds left on the free position shot to beat the Lions.

Score: 15-14 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Gia Colombo‘s six goals scored are a career high.
• Genie Santarpio added two goals in the match to give her a team-leading 17 goals scored on the season.
• Georgia Glowaki, a freshman, scored the first game winner of her career.

UP NEXT: The Spartans travel to Lakeland, Fla., Wednesday for an evening showdown with Sunshine State Conference opponent Florida Southern College 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.

******************

Wilsynski’s Career Day Not Enough Against No. 6 Tampa

SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 22 Saint Leo Lions took the No. 6 Tampa Spartans to overtime Wednesday night in University Turf Stadium. Ashlee Wilsynski had a day against the rival, recording a career-high nine points, scoring six goals and three assists. Despite the outstanding efforts, the Lions ended up on the wrong side of the 15-14 overtime decision. The battle contained a tight team shot count with Saint Leo edging Tampa 32-31 while the Spartans placed one more goal on frame than the Lions. Each team recorded11 saves while they each won 15 draw controls, and both tallied 16 clears.

Wilsynski took 12 shots, nine of which she placed on frame, and six found the back of the net. The sophomore attacker’s nine-point day bested her previous career-high scoring performance with five goals on March 4, 2020 against Seton Hill. In addition, she shattered her six-point record from February 14, 2020 at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Off the draw, Ashley Salvett collected seven of the Lions’ 15 draw controls.

On the other end, Emma Crafton recorded her fourth 11-save game this season, her career high in the cage. Crafton took the loss after 62:26 minutes of action.

Records

No. 6 Tampa: 6-1, 5-1 SSC
No. 22 Saint Leo: 3-4, 2-3 SSC

How it Happened

Saint Leo earned a one goal lead heading into halftime at 7-6. The three-goal push was the largest run of the first 30 minutes, recorded between the 17^th and 12^th minute marks. Lia Lamendola fueled the offensive burst with back-to-back goals, the first was assisted by Cassidy Passaro, while the second she converted from a free position shot. In the 12^th minute, Wilsynski earned her first goal of the night, assisted by Delaney Chrisco.

The Green and Gold put on a show after the halftime break. The Lions strung together another three-goal run to earn their largest lead of the game at 10-6. After each team swapped goals, Tampa returned the favor with its own uninterrupted trio to bring the game back within one, 11-10. Wilsynki found the back of the net a sixth time in the 15^th minute. She then assisted Fiona McLaughlin just 90 seconds later to extend the gap to 13-10. The Spartans and Lions each got on the board one more time to bring the game to 14-11 with six minutes remaining in regulation.

Four minutes passed without a goal from either sideline. Tampa’s Gia Colombo broke out for three goals in the last 2:22 minutes of regulation to force overtime.

McLaughlin snagged the overtime draw but Saint Leo couldn’t get a clean shot off as Tampa forced a turnover in front of the cage right as the Lions’ shot clock ran out. The Spartans were awarded a free position shot on their offensive end and the sling went high and left. Despite the wide shot, Tampa maintained possession. Tampa was awarded a second chance eight meters away and this time converted the opportunity for the 15-14 overtime final.

Up Next

The Lions hit the road on Saturday, April 17 to face the Lynn Fighting Knights in Boca Raton, Fla. The game marks the Green and Gold’s final Sunshine State Conference matchup of the season. Following the conference finale, Saint Leo is scheduled for non-conference meetings with Palm Beach Atlantic and No. 7 Florida Southern.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women’s lacrosse, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Keeping Our Lions Healthy & Safe

Saint Leo University Athletics is keeping our student-athletes healthy and safe by following a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes having student-athletes tested or screened on a regular basis, traveling in smaller groups, holding competitions without fans in attendance, avoiding overnight trips, and wearing masks when not competing. These safety standards meet those set by the NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference President’s Council. At Saint Leo University, the COVID-19 Incident Command Team also reviews the teams’ safety protocol and monitors adherence on a regular basis.