No. 5 Tampa Welcomes In Mavericks For Weekend Action

The No. 5 Tampa Spartans men's lacrosse team will battle the Colorado Mesa Mavericks Saturday night at the Naimoli Family Athletic Complex.

No. 5 Tampa Welcomes In Mavericks For Weekend Action
March 11, 2016

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 5 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team will look to extend their two-game win streak, as they host the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks Saturday night at the Naimoli Family Athletic Complex.


The Spartans enter the contest with a record of 5-1, coming off back to back victories including a 9-7 upset, over the No. 4 Lake Erie Storm. The difference makers for UT in the match were Jake Schmidt with three goals, and two assists, Ryan Vella with three groundballs and three caused turnovers, and last but not least goalkeeper A.J. Arnold, who notched 15 saves and tallied a .681 save percentage.


The Mavericks are toting a record of 1-1, after defeating Augustan College 18-6, leading the efforts for CMU were Steve Brandenburg with his five goals, Defender Alex Utt with four groundballs and in net Zach Weaver with his eight saves and impressive .889 save percentage.


Tampa's offense is led by Andrew Kew with 25 goals under his belt, but the real catalyst for the attack is Conor Whipple with 17 goals and 14 assists. Rounding out the attack is senior Jake Schmidt with 10 goals and five assists. The Spartans offense averages 13.17 goals per game and a shots on goal percentage of .664.


Defensively, UT's group is as talented as they come, featuring a mix of youth and experience. The defensive unit features upperclassmen Marty Heyn, Charlie Cummins and Ryan Vella as well as underclassmen like Luke Posner, Nick Balzano, and A.J. Ferraro. Together as a group, they've forced 27 caused turnovers and scooped up 55 groundballs


The Spartans' transition game is one of the best in the country as they are clearing at 93.3 clip on the season, which is good enough to rank third in the country. 


Tampa trails the Mavericks 1-3 in the all-time series, with Colorado Mesa winning the previous meeting in 2015 by a score of 14-6.


Game time is set for 7 P.M. Live stats, as well as a web broadcast, will be available for fans to follow the action via TampaSpartans.com.


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