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BOX SCORE

#16 Mocs Advance to SSC Championship with Historic Win over #7 Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. – The 16^th-ranked Florida Southern men’s lacrosse team earned its program-record 13^th victory Thursday night in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinals as the Moccasins took down the seventh-ranked University of Tampa Spartans in a rain-soaked contest. The win gives the Mocs their second-straight trip to the SSC Championship. FSC will take on the top-seeded Tars from Rollins, who are ranked No. 3 nationally, Sunday in Winter Park.

The victory is just the second all-time versus the Spartans with the last win coming in 2012 in the semifinals of the Deep South Conference Tournament. The victory moves FSC’s record to 13-4 on the season while the Spartans fall to 13-3.

The Mocs had to not only battle the Spartans but they also faced some tough weather conditions as high winds and rains came late in the third quarter and forced a suspension of play prior to the fourth quarter. FSC came out of the weather delay and out-scored the Spartans 4-2 over the final 15 minutes of action to secure the victory.

Senior Sean Nolan sparked the Moccasin offense as he scored four of the opening five goals for the Mocs. The Cross River, N.Y. native finished with a team-high four goals and one assist. The hat trick gave Nolan 11 for the season, setting a new single season record at FSC as he continues to add to his legacy in a Moccasin uniform.

Eight additional Mocs added one goal each as it was a total team effort Thursday night in Tampa. Freshman Nolan Tighe and junior Kaleb Cook each had a goal and an assist to finish tied for second on the team with two points each. The rest of the goal scorers included freshman Jacob Czyz, sophomore Matt Flammenspeck, graduate student Jay Minor, junior Jack Frazee, graduate student Andrew Medeiros and senior Lucas Sommers. Sommers also led the defensive side of the ball with a career-best four caused turnovers.

Czyz, who had missed the last three-plus games due to injury, returned to lead the team at the face off as he went 9-of-19 (.474) including winning a battle in the fourth and driving down to score just his second goal of season which gave the Mocs a two-goal lead with just under 11 minutes to play.

Junior Michael Simone earned his 11^th victory of the season as he moved to 11-2 in goal for the Mocs. The Smithtown, N.Y. native made nine saves in the victory while tying the program record for wins in a season by a goalie.

Both teams started out hot as the Spartans took just seven seconds to score the opening goal of the contest. The Mocs would respond just 20 seconds later as Nolan scored the first of his four goals on the night off an assist from Tighe. The game would settle down a bit until Nolan struck again at the 8:38 mark of the period to give the Mocs their first lead of the game, 2-1. The Spartans would rattle off four-straight including three in the final seven-plus minutes of the first and one in the opening 35 seconds of the second to take a 5-2 lead, their largest of the contest.

Nolan secured his 11^th hat trick of the season just three minutes later as he beat Spartan All-Conference goaltender Blake Ulmer to cut the deficit to two. Sommers would strike just over a minute later off a feed from sophomore Brydon Robichaud to trim the lead to just one. It would be Nolan once again just 39 ticks of the clock later as he beat Ulmer low to score his fourth goal of the contest and tie the game at 5-5.

Both teams battled the final nine minutes of the first half with the Spartans adding one more goal with just over four minutes remaining to take a 6-5 lead into the halftime break.

The Spartans once again opened a quarter with a quick goal as Tampa connected on a tally just 47 seconds into the second half to take a two-goal advantage. It would once again turn into a defensive battle for the next several minutes until the Mocs finally broke through at the 5:32 mark as Flammenspeck scored from the left side to cut the deficit to just one. The Spartans were quick to respond as they answered the goal just 45 seconds later to re-take a two goal advantage. The goal fever caught on as Medeiros and Tighe scored back-to-back goals in just over a minute to tie the game at 8-8 with 2:23 left in the third.

Rain and wind moved into the Tampa area in the late seconds of the third period and play was suspended for less than an hour as the teams waited for the weather to cooperate. The teams returned to the field for the fourth as rain continued to pour down.

Both teams navigated the soaked field for the opening three minutes of the period before Frazee gave the Mocs their first lead since the opening period as he finished a feed from junior Brendan Glasser. Czyz would take the next face off and race down the field before launching a shot past Tampa’s goalie to give the Mocs a 10-8 lead with just under 11 minutes to play. The Spartans quickly rebounded with a goal just 10 seconds later to cut the lead to one at 10-9. Just under two minutes later the hosts would strike again to tie the game at 10-10 but the Mocs would not be deterred.

As both teams looked for the game-winner down the stretch it was junior transfer from Lakeland, Fla. Kaleb Cook who tallied the go-ahead goal as he beat the Tampa keeper from distance to give the Moccasins an 11-10 advantage. Minor would add an insurance goal just under three minutes later as the Mocs led by two with 3:57 left in the contest. Simone made three crucial saves in the final three minute to preserve the historic victory for the Mocs sending FSC to its second-straight SSC Championship game.

The Mocs will face a rematch of the 2022 SSC Tournament semifinals where FSC defeated Rollins 12-11 in overtime on the road on a last second goal from Sean Nolan which beat an expiring shot clock sending the Mocs to their first SSC Championship game in program history. The Mocs fell to Rollins 14-6 during the 2023 regular season but they were without their First Team All-SSC face off specialist Jacob Czyz who was out due to injury.

Scoring Summary

1st Period			FSC	UT
14:53		UT – Alex Poma	0	1
14:33		FSC – Sean Nolan Assisted by Nolan Tighe	1	1
08:38		FSC – Sean Nolan	2	1
07:34		UT – Jackson Bashaw Assisted by Harry Kilkowski	2	2
04:33		UT – Daniel Fitzpatrick Assisted by Charlie Bolesh	2	3
00:06		UT – Matthew Beddow	2	4
2nd Period			FSC	UT
14:25		UT – Jackson Bashaw Assisted by Daniel Fitzpatrick	2	5
11:11		FSC – Sean Nolan	3	5
09:57		FSC – Lucas Sommers Assisted by Brydon Robichaud	4	5
09:18		FSC – Sean Nolan	5	5
04:21		UT – Harry Kilkowski Assisted by Nick Papa	5	6
3rd Period			FSC	UT
14:13		UT – Luke McAnaney	5	7
05:32		FSC – Matt Flammenspeck	6	7
04:47		UT – Jackson Bashaw Assisted by Canyon Birch	6	8
03:44		FSC – Andrew Medeiros Assisted by Sean Nolan	7	8
02:23		FSC – Nolan Tighe Assisted by Kaleb Cook	8	8
4th Period			FSC	UT
11:22		FSC – Jacob Czyz	9	8
10:59		FSC – Jack Frazee Assisted by Brendan Glasser	10	8
10:49		UT – Daniel Fitzpatrick Assisted by Charlie Bolesh	10	9
08:51		UT – Jackson Bashaw Assisted by Owen Miller	10	10
06:33		FSC – Kaleb Cook	11	10
03:57		FSC – Jay Minor	12	10

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Spartans Fall to Mocs in SSC Semifinal Matchup at Home

TAMPA, Fla. – The No.7 ranked University of Tampa Spartans men’s lacrosse team falls to the Mocs at home in the SSC Semifinals.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: No. 16 Florida Southern 12, No. 7 Tampa 10

Records: Tampa Spartans (13-3, 6-2 SSC), Florida Southern Mocs (13-4, 6-2 SSC)

Location: Naimoli Family Athletic Complex || Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

FIRST QUARTER

The Sunshine State Conference semifinal would open with the Spartans wasting no time, behind Alex Poma‘s faceoff win that lead to a quick goal. The Mocs would respond with a goal of their own twenty seconds later to prove this postseason tilt will be highly contested. Florida Southern called a timeout with just over nine minutes left in the quarter. The Mocs netted one more to gain a one-goal lead with just under eight and a half minutes to play. Charlie Bolesh found teammate Daniel Fitzpatrick in front of the net to put the Spartans in a one-goal lead with just over four minutes left in the quarter. Behind a late goal from Matthew Beddow, the Spartans went into the second 15 minutes with a two-goal lead.

14:53 – Alex Poma, unassisted

07:34 – Jackson Bashaw, assisted by Harry Kilkowski

04:33 – Daniel Fitzpatrick, assisted by Charlie Bolesh

00:07 – Matthew Beddow, unassisted

Score: 4-2 Tampa

SECOND QUARTER

The Spartans came out swinging in the opening minutes of the second quarter, with Jackson Bashaw netting his second of the matchup off a pass from Fitzpatrick. The Mocs would open their scoring for the quarter with just over eleven left before the half, cutting the Spartans’ lead to two goals. Florida Southern netted two more quick goals to tie the matchup at five goals with just over nine minutes before halftime. Harry Kilkowski netted a goal of his own, capitalizing off a pass from Nick Papa, putting Tampa in the lead once again.

14:24 – Jackson Bashaw, assisted by Daniel Fitzpatrick

04:21 – Harry Kilkowski, assisted by Nick Papa

Score: 6-5 Tampa

THIRD QUARTER

The second half would open with Luke McAnaney netting his first of the night, extending the Tampa lead. The defense for both teams played very well in the quarter, keeping the matchup close. With just over five and a half minutes in left in the quarter, Florida Southern found the back of the net for the sixth time, making it a one-goal contest again. Bashaw finished off his second career hattrick after netting a pass from Canyon Birch to build the Tampa lead to two goals. The Mocs responded soon after, making the matchup even at eight with just over two minutes left. The end of the quarter would come and a brief weather delay ensued before the final 15 minutes. 

14:13 – Luke McAnaney, unassisted

04:47 – Jackson Bashaw, assisted by Canyon Birch

Score: 8-8 Tie

FOURTH QUARTER

The final 15 minutes began after a weather delay, but the intensity of the matchup picked right back up. Just three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Mocs scored back-to-back goals to take the lead. Fitzpatrick got one back for the Spartans to make in a one-goal game in the pouring rain. Owen Miller found Bashaw in front of the net to tie the game at 10 goals a piece with just under nine minutes left in regulation. Florida Southern took a one-goal lead with just over six and a half minutes left. The Mocs found the back of the net once again with just under four minutes left, gaining a two-goal lead. Ultimately, the Spartans could not come back from the deficit.

10:49 – Daniel Fitzpatrick, assisted by Charlie Bolesh

08:51 – Jackson Bashaw, assisted by Owen Miller

Final: 12-10 Florida Southern

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Freshman Jackson Bashaw netted his second career hattrick in the matchup
• Blake Ulmer recorded 12 saves
• Tampa outshot Florida Southern 38-30
• Spartans fall at home for the first time since 2019 and the program’s perfect 14-0 record in the SSC Tournament is snapped

UP NEXT: TBA