No. 9 Spartans Suffer Loss from No. 3 Bears

SAVANNAH, Ga. –  The No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears defeated the No. 9 University of Tampa Spartans by a final score of 12-9.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 9 Tampa Spartans 9, No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 12
Records: Tampa (9-3), Lenoir-Rhyne (11-1)
Location: Savannah, Ga.  
All-time Series: The Tampa Spartans lead the all-time series with the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 3-1.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Period

• The Spartans were the first team on the board with a goal from Matt Vetter.
• A little over a minute later, UT netted another goal, this time from Hunter Van Horn.
• With 8:10 left in the first period, Donavon Dempsey scored for the Spartans, giving them the 3-0 lead.
• Andrew Kew then logged his first goal of the day with 3:50 on the clock.
• In the last 30 seconds of play, the Bears earned their first goal to end the period trailing the Spartans 4-1.

2nd Period

• Lenoir-Rhyne ran with the momentum they had gained at the end of the first, scoring a goal in the first 30 seconds of the second period.
• Van Horn then netted his second goal of the game for the Spartans.
• With 4:48 left in the half, Shane Hanlon earned a goal for the Spartans, the assist by Bryan Wright.
• The Bears netted their third goal of the game with 3:25 left in the half. The team still trailed the Spartans 6-3.
• UT then netted another goal, this time from Chris Cox.
• In the last 11 seconds of the first half, Lenoir-Rhyne scored, making the score heading into halftime, Tampa 7, Lenoir-Rhyne 4.

3rd Period

• The Bears scored the next three goals of the contest, tying the match at 7.
• With 11 seconds left in the third, Lenoir-Rhyne took the lead 8-7.

4th Period

• Once, again LRU was the first team on the board with back-to-back goals. The Spartans now trailed the Bears 10-7.
• Lenoir-Rhyne scored the next two goals of the contest with 5:55 left to play. The No. 3 Bears continued to hold the lead over the No. 9 Spartans 12-7.
• Finally, Matt Vetter scored his second goal of the game off a pass from Wright, ending the Spartans dry spell.
• Andrew Kew then scored Tampa's final goal of the day, the assist once again from Wright.
• The No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears defeated the No. 9 University of Tampa Spartans by a final score of 12-9.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Vetter, Van Horn, and Kew all led the Spartans offensively with two goals each.
• Wright recorded the most assists for Tampa with three.
• Ross Dickerson led the Spartans in ground balls with eight, followed by Luke Posner with four.
• B.J. Borowski recorded nine saves in the cage for the Spartans. 

BEYOND THE BOX:

• This marks the first time in program history that the Spartans have lost to the Bears.

UP NEXT:
The Spartans will host Sunshine State Conference rival, Florida Southern on Wednesday, April 4^th. The first face-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Tampa will then host Saint Leo on Saturday the 7^th, also at 8:00 p.m.

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