Men's Lacrosse is Set to Host its First SSC Contest of 2019

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men's lacrosse team is set to open Sunshine State Conference competition against the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m. 

The Matchup: University of Tampa (5-4, 0-0 SSC) vs. Embry Riddle (8-3, 0-1 RMAC) 
Date/Time: Saturday, March 20^that 8:00 p.m.
Location: Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex | Tampa, Fla.

Last Time Out: The University of Tampa defeated the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks by a final score of 19-6. In the contest, senior Andrew Kew had an outstanding game earning six goals and one assist. Following his efforts was that of sophomore Colin White and senior Kansai Garey, each with three goals. The Spartans were led in assists by Chris Cox who tallied three. Defensively, Hunter Van Horn had two caused turnovers and four ground balls, while Sam Collingwood added two caused turnovers and three ground balls for the Spartans. The Spartans have dominated face-offs this season mainly in part to junior Ross Dickerson. Dickerson showed continued success in his performance, winning 19-22 from the X. Sophomore B.J. Borowski played the majority of the contest as keeper. Borowski faced 14 shots, recording eight saves and one ground ball. 

About the Spartans: Tampa is currently 5-4 on the 2019 season, 0-0 in the Sunshine State Conference. This will be the first game of the 2019 season that will count towards the Spartans Sunshine State Conference record. The Spartans are led offensively by senior Andrew Kew. Kew has 43 points on the season made up of 25 goals and 18 assists. Sophomore Colin White is second on the team in points with 28. White has scored 24 times and has stated four assists. Matt Vetter is the third leading scorer for the Spartans with 26 points. He has 13 goals and 13 assists. Defensively, Sam Collingwood has a team-high of 14 caused turnovers on top of his 14 ground balls, while Luke Robideaux has seven caused turnovers and 16 ground balls. Junior Ross Dickerson remains one of the best faceoff specialists in the nation. He currently has the fifth best face-off winning percentage in all Division II with 75.6%. Dickerson has won 177-234 face-offs from the X. Finally, at keeper, the Spartans have been using the combination of returning SSC Freshman of the Year, B.J. Borowski, and senior Bryan Karn. The two have recorded 95 saves on the season, 68 and 27 respectively.   

About the Eagles: The Eagles are currently 8-3 overall, 0-1 in the SSC. This is only Embry-Riddle's second year with a men's lacrosse program. Most recently, the Eagles fell to conference foe, Palm Beach Atlantic, by a final score of 13-12. This season ERAU is led offensively by #64 Coleman Jacobs, and #3 Mitchell Cody. Coleman has recorded 38 points consisting of a team-high of 28 goals and 10 assists. Mitchell has 37 points in his 2019 campaign. He currently leads the Eagles in assists with 20 in addition to having 17 goals. #19 Ryan Manning and #11 Michael Forte head the defensive efforts for the Eagles. Manning has a team-high of 14 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls, while Forte has tallied 12 caused turnovers and 32 ground balls. Embry-Riddle's face-off specialist is #10 Mark Urso. Urso has won 181 of the 256 faceoffs he has taken this season. Finally, the Eagles primary goalkeeper is #0 Lucas Fraser. Fraser has played and started in all 11 of Embry-Riddle's games. He has stated 82 saves this year with a goals against average of 9.62. 

Series History (Men's): The Spartans lead the all-time series over the Eagles 1-0.