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UPSET! NO. 5 ROLLINS CAGES NO. 3 LINDENWOOD, 12-11

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
From Rollinssports.com – Photo Courtesy: Jim Hogue Photos WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 29, 2016) – Third-ranked Lindenwood University made a push in the final 10 minutes of play, scoring five straight goals as the minutes waned.  However, the fifth-ranked Rollins women’s lacrosse team snuffed the comeback bid and edged the Lions by a final score of 12-11 on a waterlogged Tuesday night at Barker Family Stadium and Cahall-Sandspur Field. The key South Region victory keeps the Tars undefeated on the season with a record of 9-0, while Lindenwood swallows their first loss of 2016 and drops to a mark of 10-1. Three Tars tallied hat tricks on the evening as Kallie GermanMegan Cury, and Tyler Thomas each found the back of the net three times.  German added an assist for a team best four points on the evening, helping Rollins to lead by as much as six points in the second half as she assist on a goal by Courtney Gittins with 9:10 left to play. Adding to the goal count for the Tars were Grayson McPhee, and Kris Coppolino, who each scored once.  Paige Brock, McPhee, Kaitlin Prince, and Taylor Thomas earned one assist apiece as Rollins tallied a total of 17 points on the evening. Malorie Olin came up clutch in goal, earning 10 saves, including seven in the second half, as she faced 27 shots and 21 shots on goal from the Lions. Her counterpart for Lindenwood, Delaney Solomon, made eight saves on the night as she faced 25 shots and 20 shots on target from Rollins.  The majority of Solomon’s saves came in the first half, as she was only able to stop two in the second period. Jordyn Constance led the Lions in goals with three, and added an assist for four points.  Joining her with four points on the night was Rachel Benzing, who earned two goals and two assists.  Maddi Ossello scored two goals and one assist, while Sophie Buelow notched two goals of her own.  Wrapping up the Lions’ scoring efforts were Amanda Schimpke and Hannah Doughty with one apiece, while Allison Hurley added an assist. Rollins opened the game with a goal by Coppolino off of an assist by Prince with 21:39 on the clock, and the Tars opened up to a five goal lead with 10:41 to play in the half.  Lindenwood was finally able to get on the board over halfway through the period thanks to a converted free-position shot with 9:18 on the clock, but Cury extended the Tars’ lead back to five on an unassisted goal to set the score at 6-1 with 8:04 to go in the first half. Lindenwood answered back with two straight to pull to within three, 6-3, with 1:14 left in the half, but Rollins responded with two more of their own to set the score at 8-3 at the half as McPhee found Ty Thomas with 48 seconds left, and German closed out the half on an unassisted goal with two ticks left on the clock. Lindenwood came out of the break on a mission, netting two straight to pull back to within three, 8-5, with 23:29 to go in the second stanza.  But another unassisted goal by Cury at the 19:46 mark pulled Rollins back to a four goal advantage, 9-5.  Lindenwood answered back less than a minute later, but three straight goals from the Tars saw Rollins extend their lead to six, 12-6, with 9:10 to go in the game. The Lions then made a late game push, and an unassisted goal by Benzing with 7:11 left in the half ignited a five goal surge that saw the team pull to within one as Benzing netted Lindenwood’s 11th goal of the night with 39 seconds to go in the game. Rollins was unable to gain possession off of the draw, but a stalwart Rollins defense held the Lions at bay, and secured the 12-11 upset victory. It was a well-matched contest as both teams earned 14 ground balls as well as 12 draw controls.  Lindenwood held the edge on shots, 27-25, as well as shots on goal 21-20, but both teams caused six turnovers each.  Rollins was successful on 11-of-15 clear attempts compared to Lindenwood’s 9-of-13, and the Lions committed more fouls, 29-22. The Tars return to action on Friday, April 1, when they travel to South Carolina to take on 13th-ranked Limestone in regional action.  Game time against the Saints is set for 7 p.m.  Links to live coverage will be available on RollinsSports.com.