Rollins Upset Bid Falls Short

WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 7, 2021) – Rollins held the No.2 Tampa Spartans, the nations top offensive team, to less than half of their usual scoring output; but the Tars' upset attempt came up just short.  Rollins fell to Tampa 10-7 on the turf at Barker Family Stadium.  Rollins moves to 1-2 on the year, and 1-2 in Sunshine State Conference play.  The Spartans remain unbeaten, at 5-0, 4-0 against SSC opposition.
 
Ryan Dunn continued his offensive tear, netting four goals to lead the Rollins attack.  Connor Coltharp, Finn Jent, and Grant Long also added tallies.  Bailey Pringle dished out one assist for the Tars.  On the defensive side of the ball Cody Iserman made 13 saves to keep Rollins close.  Senior Chase Snyder caused three Tampa turnovers.
 
For Tampa Ben French tallied a game high five points with a hat-trick and a pair of assists.  Ross Dickerson won 13-20 faceoffs and picked up five groundballs.  Blake Ulmer made 13 saves, playing the full 60 minutes between the pipes for the Spartans.
 
Tampa dominated the first quarter, putting five unanswered goals in the back of the net.  Jake Mosher McGraw started the scoring at the 12 minute mark.  The run ended with a score by Bryan Wright with just 13 second left in the period.
 
Ryan Dunn would put a rocket over the head of Ulmer to get Rollins on the board, and break Spartans' streak, early in the second quarter.  Ben French would respond to restore the five goal Tampa advantage.  Grant Long dodged down the ally and beat the keeper high also to make the score 6-2.  The Spartans responded with a Luke McAnaney goal, as the teams continued to trade punches.  Dunn and Connor Coltharp tallied pair of back-to-back goals to break the streak.  After a French tally gave Tampa an 8-4 lead, the Tars were able to convert on an extra man opportunity to make the score 8-5 heading into the break.
 
Sam Collingwood registered the first goal of the second half, but the Tars quickly recovered with Dunn's fourth tally.  Finn Jent would then cut the lead to two with just under half-a-minute to play in the third quarter.  The junior swept across the top of the box and sent a rocket high and into the back of the net.
 
Both defenses would clamp down in the final 15 minutes.  The Tars managed only three shots on target, and Ulmer stopped them all, while Rollins held the Spartans to just four total shots and one on target.  That shot, off the stick of Owen Miller, found the back of the net and gave the Spartans the 10-7 lead they would hold through the final whistle.


 
UP NEXT:
Rollins will stay in Winter Park to host the Florida Southern Moccasins. Faceoff is set for Saturday, April 10, at 1 p.m.
 
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