Spartans Host Rollins in SSC Semi-Finals
TAMPA, Fla. - The sixth-ranked University of
Tampa men's lacrosse will host Rollins in the semi-finals of the
Sunshine State Conference Tournament Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m.
at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex. The Spartans
are the No. 1 seed in the SSC tournament after finishing the
regular season 13-2, including going a perfect 5-0 in conference
play.
The Spartans, currently ranked third in the south region, are
looking to advance to its first ever postseason berth. Tampa is
led by Conor Whipple, Jake Rooney, Trevor Calleja, and Andrew
Failla. Whipple leads the Spartans with 35 assists and 78 points,
while Rooney has netted a team-high 53 goals. Calleja has a .610
faceoff win percentage and has picked up a team high 84 groundballs
this season. Failla is 9-2 in the cage this season and has a .606
save percentage. Tampa's back line of Larry Gress, Marty Heyn, and
Nate Tembi have held opponents to 7.40 goals per game, which is the
seventh best in Division II this season.
Rollins finished the regular season 6-8 and 2-3 in conference play after falling to Saint Leo earlier this week. The Tars are led by Jack Vonarb, Jack Dever, and Alex Petsos. Vonarb leads Rollins with 28 goals and is tied for the team high in points with 24, while Dever has tallied 22 goals and 12 assists on the season. Petsos has a .620 faceoff win percentage and has picked up 100 ground balls. Defender Connor McClellan has tallied 26 caused turnovers and 47 groundballs for the Tars.
The two teams squared off on April 9th with the Spartans defeating Rollins 13-8. In that game the Spartans jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the opening period. The Tars struck first in the second quarter, but Tampa responded scoring three of the final four goals to take a 6-2 lead at halftime. Tampa outscored Rollins 7-6 in the second half for the 13-8 final. Whipple and Rooney finished with four goals apiece, while Brian Patton netted a hat trick.
Live stats and a video webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.
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