No. 11 Spartans Topple Alabama-Huntsville to Earn First Victory of the Season

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa Spartans women's lacrosse team won their first game of the season at home against Alabama-Huntsville.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: No. 11 Tampa 22, Alabama-Huntsville 5

Records: Tampa 1-0, Alabama-Huntsville 0-1

Location: Naimoli Family Athletic Complex | Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

First Quarter: The Spartans defense got to work early with a great showing. The Spartans found the back of the net six minutes into the game, with Cece Colombo scoring the goal. Towards the halfway mark of the first quarter, the Spartans offense started to roll, scoring a pair of goals about a minute apart of each other. With just over two minutes left in the first, the Spartans held a one goal lead over the Chargers. The Spartans scored another pair of goals late in the first causing the Chargers to call a timeout with over a minute to play. The Spartans offense was too much for the Chargers defense to handle, with the Spartans earning the lead headed into the second quarter. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

09:08 – Cece Colombo, unassisted.

07:31 Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Lizzie Pierpint.

06:36 – Madison Birch, unassisted .

02:07 – Sarah Hinkle, unassisted.

01:51 – Madison Birch, unassisted.

Score: 5-2 Tampa

Second Quarter: The Spartans offense continued rolling in the second quarter, scoring three unanswered goals in the first five minutes of the quarter. The chargers were forced to call an early timeout to try and defend the Spartans offensive surge. Despite the Charger's best defensive efforts, the Spartans offense scored again. At the halfway point the Spartans had a sizeable lead over the Chargers. With a minute left to play, the Spartans had an 11-4 lead. The Spartan goals headed into halftime were scored as follows:

12:43 – Gia Colombo, unassisted.

11:44 -  Cece Colombo, unassisted.

10:40 – Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Gia Colombo.

10:10 – Erin McLoughlin, unassisted.

08:03 – Erin McLoughlin, unassisted.

04:12 – Cece Colombo, unassisted.

Score: 11-5 Tampa

Third Quarter: The Spartans offense got started early in the quarter, with Sarah Hinkle netting her fourth goal of the game just two minutes into the third.  Just two minutes later, the Spartans netted another pair of goals, building their lead to nine goals. The Spartans scored as follows:

13:48 – Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Olivia Mott.

11:07 - Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Gia Colombo.

08:49 – Emma McLoughlin, unassisted.

03:38 – Gia Colombo, unassisted.

00:12 – Christina Romano, assisted by Julia Kolderman.

Score: 16-5 Tampa

Fourth Quarter: The Spartans found the back of the net early to start the fourth, with Lizzie Pierpont scoring just one-minute in. The Spartans rolled the whole game and earned the win over the Chargers. The Spartan goals for the fourth quarter were scored as follows:

14:11 – Lizzie Pierpont, assisted by Abby Hope.

12:55 – Abby Hope, assisted by Julia Kolderman.
08:43 – Oliva Mott, unassisted.

06:14 – Olivia Mott assisted by Riley McGettigan.

03:13 – Brynn Nestor, assisted by Gracie Colombo.

01:24 – Julia Kolderman, unassisted.

Final: 22-5 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:

• UT had two players score hattricks or better on the game: Sarah Hinkle (5) and Cece Colombo (3).
• UT outshot Alabama-Huntsville 38-10.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Gia Colombo's five goal effort against PBA gives her 11 goals scored in her last two games. She scored six goals at Saint Leo on 04/21/21.

UP NEXT: The Spartans stay at home to play an exhibition game against Team Scotland on Wednesday at 12:00 P.M.

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