Tampa falls short to #3 Queens at The Crown Lacrosse Classic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The University of Tampa Spartans women's lacrosse team fall short to Queens University of Charlotte at The Crown Lacrosse Classic.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: #3 Queens University of Charlotte Royals 10, #13 University of Tampa Spartans 9

Records: #13 Tampa (2-3), #3 Queens University (5-0)

Location: American Legion Memorial Stadium | Charlotte, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

First Quarter: The game started physical with Tampa being the first to put points on the board. Madison Birch scored the first official goal for Tampa sparking their intensity. Tampa's defense was strong applying pressure to Queens offense. Even with this, Queens still managed to score two back-to-back goals in less than five minutes of each other. Tampa never stopped pushing causing Queens to turn the ball over. Birch scored early, but Tampa struggled getting the ball in the net after that. In spite of that, Alex Walling prevented Queens from running the score up. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

 10:56 – Madison Birch, unassisted

 Score: 4-1 (Queens)

Second Quarter: The second quarter started off with a good save by Walling. From here, Tampa struggled scoring but that soon ended with Cece Colombo scoring her first goal of the game. Both teams kept their aggressiveness throughout the quarter. Colombo's mid quarter goal pumped some juice into Tampa's offense going into halftime. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

 3:55 – Cece Colombo, assisted by Julia Kolderman

 Score: 5-2 (Queens)

Third Quarter: Tampa got rolling early in the quarter with a goal by Lizzie Pierpont with under 14:00 left in the quarter. Queens quickly answered back with a goal of their own. It was a foots race for majority of the quarter with each team pushing to score. Tampa decreased Queens with a goals by Emma McLoughlin and Brynn Nestor. Then they snuck a last second goal in before the end of the quarter bringing them down by one. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

 13:24 – Lizzie Pierpont, unassisted

 5:34 -  Emma McLoughlin, unassited

 0:20 – Brynn Nestor, assisted by Emma McLoughlin

 0:10 – Emma Loughlin, assisted by Cece Colombo

Score: 7-6 (Queens)

Fourth Quarter: Tampa's offensive and defensive force carried over into the fourth quarter. Queens started with three early back-to-back goals. Following them, Tampa went on a little run of their own decreasing the lead with every goal. Olivia Mott started the scoring for Tampa with Colombo and Nestor following behind. Despite defensive pressure by Queens, Tampa still managed to get the ball in the net. Within the last seconds of the game, Tampa was down by one pushing to tie the score. In spite of their last second push, they couldn't tie and fell to Queens by one. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

8:20 – Olivia Mott, unassisted

6:09 – Cece Colombo, unassisted

3:21 – Brynn Nestor, unassisted

Score: 10-9 (Queens)

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Walling topped her season high saves, with 13 today
• Nestor, Colombo, and McLoughlin led with two goals each

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Tampa earned more saves than Queens, 13-10

UP NEXT: The Spartans travel back home as they face off against Lee on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m.

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