Rollins Edges Florida Tech in SSC Action, 11-9

Rollins (9-4, 3-1 SSC)

11 -

9

Florida Tech (6-6, 1-3 SSC)

Box Score Highlights

Rollins Edges Florida Tech in SSC Action, 11-9
Tars Earn Key Victory to Secure Spot in Sunshine State Conference Tournament

WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 16, 2016) - The Rollins men's lacrosse team earned a key Sunshine State Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, securing their spot in the 2016 SSC Tournament for the third straight season. The Tars defeated Florida Tech by a final score of 11-9 at Barker Family Stadium and Cahall-Sandspur Field, positioning themselves to finish in the top three in regular season conference action.

The win advances Rollins, who received votes on the latest USILA Division II Poll, to a mark of 9-4, and 3-1 in SSC play. The Panthers, who also received votes on this week's USILA Poll, drop to 6-6 and 1-3 in the SSC.

Rollins secured the win thanks to a total team, as nine Tars worked to put points on the scoreboard. Jack Vonarb led the way, tallying a hat trick and two assists for a game high five points on the afternoon. Carson Buell was close behind with four points on the day as he notched three assists and one goal. Justin Diamond and Clay Phillips earned one goal and one assist each, while AJ Gogan, Greg Taicher, Nicholas Schultz, Connor Ashton and Jeremy Slocumb scored one goal each.

In goal, William Doyle saw a full 60 minutes in cage, earning seven saves as he faced a total of 24 shots from the Panthers. Andrew Matthews led the team in grond balls with five, while Connor McClellan caused a team high two turnovers and picked up four ground balls.

The Panthers were led by Cody Martin, who notched a hat trick on the afternoon. Tyler covey led the team in points with two goals and two assists, while Brian Bacarella, Jason Terry, Nick Brown, and Austen Zugelter scored one goal each. Ryan Land, Grant Hughes, Charlie Morrisette, Logan Sweeney, and Nathan Howard all added one assist apiece.

In Goal for Florida Tech, Christian Koch played a full game, earning 15 saves as he faced 38 shots from Rollins.

Florida Tech was first on the board with a goal by Terry 24 seconds into the game to take an early lead. Rollins answered back with an unassisted goal by Diamond with 11:17 on the clock, and the Tars gained the lead on a goal by Phillips thanks to an assist by Diamond with 4:22 to play in the quarter. It looked like Rollins would close out the quarter with the lead, but an unassisted goal by Zugelter with six seconds to go in the quarter knotted the score at 2-2.

The Panthers opened the second stanza jumping back out to a one goal lead thanks to a score by Martin with 13:51 to go before the half. Rollins answered back thanks to a goal by Vonarb off of an assist by Buell to set the score at 3-3 with 11:46 left in the quarter, but FIT scored two straight to pull ahead to a 5-3 lead with 7:12 on the clock. Rollins closed out the quarter with a goal by Ashton thanks to an assist by Gogan, pulling back to within one for a halftime score of 5-4.

Rollins opened the second half with two straight, taking a 6-5 lead with 11:49 on the clock, but the Panthers retaliated with two of their own to pull back into the lead with a score of 7-6 with 3:17 left in the period. The Tars pulled even once again thanks to a goal by Schultz off of an assist by Vonarb, setting the score at 7-7 entering into the final quarter.

Florida Tech pounced first, but Slocumb and Buell teamed up to pull even once again with a score of 8-8 and 10:25 to play. The Panthers pulled ahead once more, with a goal by Martin, but Buell notched an unassisted goal with five minutes remaining to pull even once more with a score of 9-9. Smart play saw Rollins take the lead with 58 seconds left in the game as Buell connected a pass to Vonarb on a man-up opportunity for the game-winning goal, and with eight ticks left on the clock, Vonarb found the back of the net once more on an open goal as the Panthers tried to execute man-to-man coverage.

The Tars led the game in shots, 38-24, but the Panthers held the advantage in saves, 15-7. The Tars had the edge on ground balls, 31-27, were successful on 16-of-18 clear attempts while the Panthers were successful on just 15-of-21 attempts. Rollins scored on all three of their man-up opportunities.

Rollins returns to action in their final game of the regular season on Friday, April 22, when the Tars host current No. 6 University of Tampa on Senior Day. Game time against the Spartans is set for 7:30 p.m. Fans who are unable to make it to the game will be able to follow all of the action live on the Geico Tars Sports Network on RollinsSports.com.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Rollins men's lacrosse team, fans can visit RollinsSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following Rollins Sports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.