LAKELAND, Fla. (April 26, 2015) - Rollins
captured the inaugural Sunshine State Conference women's lacrosse
championship with a thrilling, 12-10 overtime win against Florida
Southern in the tournament title game Sunday.
The 11th-ranked Tars improved to 13-4 with the win
while dropping the fifth-ranked Mocs to 19-3. Rollins also avenged
a 15-8 loss to FSC earlier in the season.
Goalie Malorie
Olin was named the Tournament MVP, racking up 13 saves,
including a crucial stop in overtime. The freshman picked up five
saves and allowed just three goals in the Tars semifinal win over
Saint Leo Friday night.
Tyler
Thomas led the Tars with three goals while Amy
Martin and Kristina
Coppolino each added a pair. The trio was honored on the
All-Tournament Team along with Eliza
Moran and Chelsea
Pinneke, who each got one goal.
Emily
Eddowes, Alley
Rhinehart and Angelica
Perdomo also scored for Rollins.
A close game throughout, neither team led by more than two goals
at any point.
FSC scored just 50 seconds into the game, but Rhinehart quickly
tied it up less than a minute later. After another Mocs goal,
Martin, Thomas and Moran strung together three-straight and put the
Tars ahead 4-2 at intermission.
In the second half, both teams got their offenses on track.
The Tars and Mocs traded goals for the first seven minutes until
two-straight tallies by the nation's leading goal scorer Megan
Asper, tied the score at 6-6.
The two rivals again went back and forth for a stretch with the
game sitting tied 8-8 with 15:47 left in regulation.
Perdomo put the Tars back on top and Thomas made it a two-goal
spread, 10-8 with 11:01 left.
Southern then knotted the score with goals just 22 seconds apart
and neither team would get a solid look the final seven-minutes of
regulation, sending the game to overtime.
Midway through the extra frame, Coppolino converted a free
position shot to give the Tars an 11-10 lead. Eddowes then put the
game away with an empty net goal at the 2:21 mark, giving Rollins a
12-10 lead.
FSC got a shot off with under a minute to play, but Olin was
there for the stop and the Tars killed the clock before celebrating
the first SSC Championship in history.
Rollins was ranked fifth in the latest NCAA Division II South
Region poll with the top four from each region getting bids into
the tournament. The NCAA selection show is slated for 8 p.m. on
Sunday, May 3. Fans can catch it live on NCAA.com.
