No.4 Tampa Falls To Defending Champion No.1 Limestone

GAFFNEY. S.C. - The No.4 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team hit the road to take on the No.1 Limestone College Saints Saturday afternoon, UT was unable to complete the upset as they fell by a score of 25-7.

The first half of play was dominated by Limestone as they tallied nine goals in the first period of the game. Tampa would then go on to score four straight goals before the half, heading into the locker room trailing 11-5.

The second half of action was the same song different verse as the Saints went on a 10-0 run to start the second half and eventually outscored the Spartans 11-1 in the third period alone. LC's offense kept their foot on the pedal as they would eventually extend their lead to 18 as they coasted to a 25-7 victory.

The Tampa offense struggled as they were held to a season-low seven goals. Freshman phenom Andrew Kew was effectively locked down as Kew recorded just four shots on the day. Leading the scoring efforts for UT was Conor Whipple, who notched two goals in the matchup. Also scoring for the Spartans were Matt Bilak, Jake Schmidt, Matt Vetter, Jud Huxtable and Nate Bleckley.

Defensively, UT made adjustment after adjustment, but could not find an answer to shut down the LC offense as 13 different players found the back of the net. Tampa hauled in 21 groundballs to Limestone's 49. Senior Marty Heyn and freshman A.J. Ferraro led the team with three groundballs apiece. The Tampa defense also went on to force six caused turnovers on the day.

The 25 goals UT conceded is the most ever in program history since the 17 goals conceded to LC in 2013. 

Netminder T.J. Greenhill was the goalie of record for the contest, picking up his first loss of the season he now sports a record of 1-1. Also seeing time in net for UT were Bryan Karn and A.J. Arnold.

Following the loss, Tampa falls to 3-1 on the season and are 0-6 all-time against the No.1 Limestone Saints.

The No.4 Spartans return to action Tuesday, as they welcome in the Chestnut Hill College Griffins to the Naimoli Family Athletic Complex, game time is set for 8 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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