No. 11 Tampa Drops Top 25 Matchup to No. 14 Grand Valley State

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa Spartans women's lacrosse team lose a tough one at home against Grand Valley State University on Sunday morning.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: No. 14 Grand Valley State Lakers 16, No. 11University of Tampa Spartans 5

Records: Tampa 1-1, Grand Valley State 2-0

Location: Naimoli Family Athletic Complex | Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

First Quarter: The game started scrappy with back-and-forth goals by each team. Madison Birch scored two early assisted goals for Tampa keeping them in range with Grand Valley State. Julia Kolderman grabbed an assist and goal helping Tampa tie the score. Despite Cece Colombo earning her first yellow card of the game, she still found a way to come back and score an unassisted goal. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

10:27 – Madison Birch, assisted by Cece Colombo

8:27 – Madison Birch, assisted by Julia Kolderman

6:15 – Julia Kolderman, unassisted

0:53 – Cece Colombo, unassisted

Score: 4-4 (Tied)

Second Quarter: The quarter started with Grand Valley State scoring early putting pressure on Tampa's defense. Colombo received her second yellow card penalty resulting in her being out the remainder of the game. Tampa struggled and Grand Valley State capitalized from it scoring three unanswered goals. Tampa started on fire but couldn't get anything in the net for majority of the quarter. Emma McLoughlin scored a goal with under 7:30 left attempting to pump fire into Tampa's offense. Tampa began fighting for loose balls and turnovers, however they struggled to stop Grand Valley State from scoring. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

7:29 – Emma McLoughlin, unassisted

Score: 11-5 (Grand Valley State)

Third Quarter: Tampa started the quarter slow allowing three unanswered goals by Grand Valley State. Three different Tampa players received penalties, Olivia Mott, Mekelsey Montgomery, and Gracie Colombo leading to Tampa being down a few players. With this, Tampa's defense still battled not allowing Grand Valley State to score anymore in the last 11 minutes. Alex Walling racked up four saves this quarter, but Tampa struggled to score.

Score: 14-5 (Grand Valley State)

Fourth Quarter: Tampa carried their defensive intensity into the final quarter of the game. Despite multiple shots, they scrambled to score. They managed to only allow Grand Valley State two goals this quarter.

Score: 16-5 (Grand Valley State)

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Walling had nine saves
• Birch led the team with two goals

BEYOND THE BOX:

• McLoughlin had four turnovers
• Tampa had a season high of 18 turnovers

UP NEXT: The Spartans stay at home next week competing against Regis University on March 1 at 7:00 p.m.

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