Spartans Edge Mars Hill to Take Sixth Straight
MARIETTA, Ga. - In a neutral site contest, the
No. 9 University of Tampa (8-1) men's lacrosse team picked up its
sixth consecutive win with a 12-10 victory over regional opponent
Mars Hill College (3-4).
It was another career day for UT junior attacker Mike Morris, who
netted a career-high six goals to lead all Spartans. It was one
goal shy of Jake Rooney's school record for goals in a game. The
Oakville, Ont., native has now scored multiple goals in five
straight games, including a total of 20 during that span.
Morris put the Spartans on the board with the game's first goal,
which was assisted by Conor Whipple at 6:29. Matt Bilak and Morris
would add another goal in the first quarter as the Spartans went
into the second with a 3-1 lead.
The Spartans surged to a 7-1 lead with the first four goals of the
second quarter. Bilak connected on the first two, with Morris
following with a pair of his own. The Lions would respond with
three straight goals prior to halftime, trimming UT's lead to 7-4
at the break.
Mars Hill scored the first goal of the second half, which was
quickly negated by a Morris goal to give UT an 8-5 lead. The Lions
then made it a game as they would score three unanswered to knot
the contest at 8-8 with 2:03 to go in the third.
Whipple would close out the third period with the first of four
straight Spartan goals to put the game out of reach for the Lions.
Zak Goldbach also added a goal during the run, as did Whipple and
Morris.
The Lions would close with a pair of late goals inside the
two-minute mark to make it a two-goal differential at the final
horn.
A.J. Arnold started in goal for Tampa, playing 39:00 and getting
his fifth win of the season. He would finish with three saves.
Shane Giunta played the final 12:00 and registered four saves.
Nick Ferreiro won 14-of-21 faceoffs for the Spartans, who were
successful in 67 percent of faceoffs on the game. Ferreiro also led
all Spartans with six groundballs, followed by Jon McGowan with
five and Whipple with four.
UT outshot its opponent 46-30 in the game as Bilak and Morris each
tallied 11 shots. Ten of Morris' shots were on target as Whipple
added eight shots of his own.
In addition to Morris' six goals, Bilak added three goals and three
assists and Whipple turned in a pair of goals to go with three
assists.
The Spartans return home to face Adams State on Thursday. The game
is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., at the Naimoli Family Athletic and
Intramural Complex. A broadcast and live stats will be available
through TampaSpartans.tv.
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