No.6 Spartans And No.4 Storm Are Slated To Meet In Weekend Matinee

TAMPA, Fla. - The No.6 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team will play host Saturday as they battle the No.4 Lake Erie College Storm, at the Naimoli Family Athletic Complex.

Tampa enters the Contest with a record of 4-1, last time out the No. 6 Spartans doubled up the Chestnut Hill Griffins winning 12-6, in an early week matchup. Conor Whipple led the offense as he netted four goals and dished out two assists. Anchoring down the defense was Charlie Cummins, who hauled in five groundballs and forced two caused turnovers. The real difference maker in the contest was Alex Patton, who earned a faceoff win percentage of .850, converting on 17 of 20 faceoff attempts.

No. 4 Lake Erie comes into the matchup with a record of 2-0, and fresh off a 14-6 victory over the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears. Edmond Renaud led the Storm offense with six goals and three assists. He also had four groundballs. Leading the LEC defense was Zach Bruening with four groundballs and four caused turnovers. Tom Lipomi picked up the win in net, improving to 2-0, making 13 stops. Turning in a tremendous effort at the faceoff x was Bret Swan, who won 12-of-22 faceoffs.

The Spartans offense which averages 14 goals per game is fueled by a three-pronged attack that features Andrew Kew, Conor Whipple, and Jake Schmidt. The trio has accounted for 45 of Tampa's 70 goals, scored this season. Whipple leads the team in points (29) with 17 goals and 12 assists under his belt. Kew is a pure scorer with his team leading 21 tallies. Schmidt is a key player to focus on in this matchup, as a dual-threat he has been manhandling defenders on his way to seven goals as well as dishing out three assists so far this year.

Defensively, Tampa has a talented group of defenders which is a mix of youth and experience. The defensive unit features upperclassmen Marty Heyn, Cummins, and Ryan Vella as well as underclassmen like Luke Posner, Nick Balzano, and A.J. Ferraro. Together as a group, they've forced 22 caused turnovers and hauled in 44 groundballs.

UT's transition game is second to none as they are clearing at a 96.3 clip, which is a direct product of the tough, fast and physical brand of defense the Spartans like to play. 

Tampa has gone with a three-man rotation of netminders this year with all of them earning a victory this season. The goalie to note in the upcoming matchup is junior A.J. Arnold (1-0). Arnold is ranked second in minutes played (106.02) and saves (19), but leads the team in save percentage with .517. There are three goalies of record on the roster, but Arnold is the only one to have previously seen action against the Storm, both coming in 2015, which Arnold was given the start in both contests.

The Spartans trail 1-2 in the all-time series, with Lake Erie winning both contests in 2015, including a 15-7 win in the NCAA Quarterfinal.

Game time is set for 1 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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