Tars Drop Nail-Biter Against Mocs

Rollins (7-6, 2-2 SSC)

8 -

9

Fla. Southern (7-6, 2-2 SSC)

Box Score

Winter Park, Fla. (April 15, 2017) - Rollins suffered their third one goal loss of the season, falling to Florida Southern 9-8 on Saturday afternoon. Rollins drops to 7-6 on the season, and 2-2 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Mocs improve to 7-6 and 2-2 in SSC action.

A trio of Tars tallied two goals to lead Rollins; Greg Taicher, Connor Ashton, and Blake Buell all notching two tallies. Dylan Bassham netted one goal, and Roy Hansen found the back of the net for the first time this season. Carson Buell set up two teammates, earning a pair of assists while Justin Diamond and Dalton LeMaster registered one a piece. Ty Wedekind played all 60 minutes in cage, making seven saves.

Eight Mocs accounted for the team's nine goals, with their only multi-goal scoring being Tyler Kopen, who tallied twice. Cody Dyer led the team with two assists. Jeff Phelps won 13-19 foceoffs on the day. Matt Lalli starred for Florida Southern, making 17 saves in his 60 minutes between the pipes.

HIGHLIGHTS AND QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS
First Quarter | Connor Ashton got Rollins on the board first, scoring off the Tars aggressive ride at the 13:39 mark. The Tars peppered the goal for the rest of the quarter, but could not net another goal. The Mocs tallied twice, one at 6:19, and again at 2:42 to take a 2-1 lead.
Second Quarter | Florida Southern got on the board first, extending their lead to 3-1. Rollins stormed back, Dylan Bassham scored first, stinging a shot over the shoulder of Lalli, then Carson Buell tallied back-to-back assists, first feeding Greg Taicher at the 8:30 mark, then finding his brother, Blake Buell, with 20 seconds on the clock, sending the Tars into the half with a 4-3 lead.
Third Quarter | The Mocs took the game back in the third quarter, shutting out the Tars, while netting three goals of their own to take us to the final frame with Rollins trailing 6-4.
Fourth Quarter | The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair, with each team creating chances. Roy Hansen opened the scoring, but the Mocs responded with two straight goals to give Florida Southern a 5-8 lead. Blake Buell and Ashton both tallied to bring the Tars back to with in one, but again the Tars were turned away but a Moc goal at the 5:12 mark. Rollins would pull with in one, with Taicher's second of the day, with eight second remaining, but the Tars could not control the ensuing faceoff, as Rollins fell 9-8.

GAME NOTES
· Greg Taicher moves into sole possession of third in the conference in goals scored with 32 on the year.
· Lucas Brush tallied two caused turnovers, tying him for third in the SSC in the statistic.
· The Tars are now 2-8 all-time against Florida Southern.
· Rollins drops to 4-3 in one goal games this years.
· Carson Buell is now just four assists away from tying Morgan Baker for the most assists in program history.
· Through 13 games of the 2017 campaign, the Tars are outscoring their opponents 127-126.

NEXT
The Tars will now turn their attention to their final game of the Regular season. Rollins will travel to Melbourne to take on the Florida Tech Panthers. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22.

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.