Tars Host No. 6 Tampa in Final Regular Season Tilt

Rollins (9-4, 3-1 SSC)

vs

No. 6 Tampa (11-2, 4-0 SSC)

Live Stats Video Tampa Men's Lacrosse

WHEN: Friday | April 22 | 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Barker Family Stadium | Cahall-Sandspur Field | Winter Park, Fla.

NOTES: The Rollins men's lacrosse team is primed and ready to host sixth-ranked Tampa on Friday evening to close out their regular season slate. The Sunshine State Conference matchup is set to get under way at 7:30 p.m. following Senior Day festivities to honor the Tars' 2016 senior class. Fans who are unable to support the Tars in person will be able to follow all of the action live the on the Geico Tars Sports Network on RollinsSports.com.

ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: Fresh off of a key 11-9 Sunshine State victory over Florida Tech last week, the Rollins men's lacrosse team enters into Friday's matchup with a record of 9-4 and 3-1 in SSC action, good for second overall within the SSC. This marks the first time in program history that men's lacrosse program has posted a winning record, and notches a new program best for wins in a season. The Tars, who received votes on the latest USILA Division II Coaches Poll, will host sixth-ranked Tampa in their final game of the regular season on Friday evening at Barker Family Stadium and Cahall-Sandspur Field.

In their most recent game, the Tars took down Florida Tech in a key conference matchup, with help from Jack Vonarb who notched a team high five points with three goals and two assists. 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 ground balls with five, while Connor McClellan caused a team high two turnovers and picked up four ground balls.

On the season, Morgan Baker leads the team with 27 goals while adding nine assists for 36 points. Vonarb has tallied a team best 12 assists in 13 games played, adding a team second-best 25 goals for a team leading 37 points overall. Justin Diamond has notched 20 goals and five assists for 25 points, followed by Carson Buell with 13 goals and nine assists, and Clay Phillips with 11 goals and five assists on the season.

Alex Petsos has compiled a .624 win percentage of faceoffs, having won 118-of-189 attempts in 12 games. Petsos has amassed a team best 74 ground balls in the process, followed by Andrew Matthews with 32, and Lucas Brush with 28. Defensively, Connor McClellan leads the team in caused turnovers with 16.

In goal, Jake Hogan as seen time in 11 games facing a total of 305 shots and making 79 saves for a save percentage of .473. The sophomore has played a total of 578 minutes in cage, allowing 88 goals for an average of 9.12 per game. Doyle has faced 105 shots in five contests, and has played a total of 185 minutes in goal. The freshman has allowed 27 goals, averaging 8.73 per game, and has made 27 saves for a save percentage of .500.

Chris Lewis became the third head coach in Rollins men's lacrosse history on June 26, 2015 after serving as the Interim Head Coach for the final two months of the 2015 season. The 2015-16 school year will be Lewis' fifth year at Rollins. He is assisted by Andrew Vossler and Matt Sweeney.

TAMPA AT A GLANCE: Entering into Saturday afternoon's contest with a record of 11-2 and 4-0 in the Sunshine State Conference, the Tampa Spartans checked in at No. 6 on this week's USILA Division II Coaches Poll.

The Spartans enter into their final game of the regular season after a 12-7 win over then No. 20 Saint Leo on Friday, April 15. Leading the scoring efforts were a trio of seniors in Jake Schmidt, Mike Morris, and Matt Bilak. Schmidt tallied four goals and dished out one assist and five points in the game. Morris found the back of the net three times and dished out an assist in the matchup. Rounding out the scoring efforts was midfielder Matt Bilak, who notched two goals and a team-high two assists. The three-headed monster of Schmidt, Morris, and Bilak accounted for 75 percent of the team's offense. Also providing firepower on the attack was Andrew Kew with two goals and junior Conor Whipple with one goal.

Stepping up big for the Spartans on defense was freshman A.J. Ferraro, who lead the team in both categories with eight ground balls and two caused turnovers.

The Spartans are led by Andrew Kew with a team best 46 goals so far this season, but it's Conor Whipple who leads the team in overall points with a blistering 78 on the season as he has racked up 40 goals and a team best 38 assists.

Alex Patton leads the team in ground balls with 40, followed closely by AJ Ferraro with 39. Patton has won 103-of-164 faceoff attempts taken, while Noah Menendez has won 82-of-141 attempts. Defensively, Charlie Cummins has caused a team high 16 turnovers.

In goal, AJ Arnold has played a total of 485 minutes, earning 93 saves and posting a save percentage of .585. Arnold has allowed 66 goals, averaging 8.15 per contest.

The Spartans are coached by Rory Whipple, who is in his fifth season as the head coach of the men's lacrosse team. The first head coach in program history for the Spartans, he owns an all-time record of 281-193 and has racked up a record of 53-18 at the helm of the Spartans. The all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division II was previously the head coach at Florida Southern College. This marks the third program that Whipple has started. He is assisted by Chris Burdick, Chris Panos, Matt Dugan, Sean Connolly, and Matt Henrie.

SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE STANDINGS: The Tars current sit second within SSC standings, and a victory over the Spartans on Friday night would mean Rollins would earn a share of the SSC Regular Season Championship title. While the Spartans and Tars have secured spots in the SSC Tournament, the battle for the third and fourth seed is still anyone's game as Saint Leo, Lynn, Florida Southern, and Florida Tech all own conference marks of 1-3 entering into the final weekend of regular season action.

2016 Men's Lacrosse Standings as of April 21, 2016

SERIES: The Tars trail in the overall series, with Tampa holding onto a 5-0 record against the Tars. Last time out, the Spartans defeated the Tars by a score of 11-5 in Tampa, Fla.

All-Time Series: Rollins vs Tampa (0-5)

NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: The Tars have earned a spot within the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, which is set to get under way on Friday, April 29. Tournament location, times, and pairings will be released by the Sunshine State Conference following the conclusion of the conference schedule on Saturday evening. For the latest news, updates and information on the 2016 men's lacrosse conference tournament, fans can visit RollinsSports.com.

STAY IN TOUCH: 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.