No.15 Tampa wins their first conference game against St. Leo

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa Spartans women's lacrosse team extend their win streak against St. Leo and wins their first conference game of the season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: #15 University of Tampa Spartans 20,  St. Leo University Lions 8

Records: Tampa (5-5), St. Leo (4-8)

Location: Naimoli Family Athletic Complex | Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

First Quarter: The game began scrappy with both teams fighting to score. St. Leo earned the first goal putting pressure on Tampa to respond. Tampa shortly responded with a goal by Holliston Wagner then another one by Madison Birch. St. Leo came back with two goals of their goal taking the lead late in the first. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

10:01 – Holliston Wagner, assisted by Lizzie Pierpont

7:25 – Madison Birch, unassisted

3:32 – Madison Birch, unassisted

2:08 – Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Olivia Mott

Score: 5 - 4 (St. Leo)

Second Quarter: Tampa got the ball rolling early with a goal by Lizzie Pierpont tying the score at five. They then controlled the momentum the rest of the quarter with Cece Colombo racking up draw controls. The game then was tied at eight with over 7:00 left in the second. Tampa attempted a lot of shots with few of them connecting, but their defensive pressure helped them gain power over St. Leo. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

13:41 – Lizzie Pierpont, assisted by Cece Colombo

13:16 – Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Olivia Mott

12:18 – Lizzie Pierpont, assisted by Olivia Mott

10:48 – Julia Kolderman, unassisted

4:31 – Madison Birch, unassisted

Score: 9 – 8 (Tampa)

Third Quarter: Within the first 58 seconds of the third quarter, Tampa found the back of the net with a goal by Birch. The quarter then began to slow down with each team putting pressure on each other's offense. Tampa had three saves and nine shots this quarter. Despite the low scoring, Emma McLoughlin scored her 12^th goal of the season helping Tampa increase their lead. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

14:02 – Madison Birch, unassisted

11:56 – Madison Birch, assisted by Julia Kolderman

01:22 – Emma McLoughlin, unassisted

0:20 – Georgia Glowaki, unassisted

Score: 13 – 8 (Tampa)

Fourth Quarter: Tampa sped the game up and continued their scoring keeping the control throughout the last 15:00. Isabella Avila came into the game pumping energy into her team, recovering a St. Leo turnover and scoring with no one there to stop her. Tampa's defense carried them through the game not allowing St. Leo to score at all in the remaining minutes while scored seven times. The goals for the Spartans were scored as follows:

13:43 – Sarah Hinkle, unassisted

10:46 – Madison Birch, unassisted

10:21 – Christina Romano, unassisted

7:02 – Isabella Avila, unassisted

06:50 – Sarah Hinkle, assisted by Lizzie Pierpont

02: 49 – Mekelsey Montgomery, unassisted

01:50 – Georgia Glowaki, assisted by Lizzie Pierpont

Final: 20 – 8 (Tampa)

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Madison Birch and Sarah Hinkle led the team again in goals, Birch (6), Hinkle (4)

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Colombo had a season high of 10 draw controls
• Tampa dominated with more shots on goal, 32-17

UP NEXT: The Spartans head to Lakeland to take on Florida Southern in their second conference game on April 6 at 7:00 p.m.

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