LAKELAND, Fla. (April 27, 2023) – The eight-ranked Rollins women's lacrosse team came up just short on Thursday afternoon, falling to fourth-ranked Florida Southern in the semifinals of the SSC Tournament by a score of 15-13. The Tars, seeded third in the tournament, fall to 15-3 overall, while the Mocs, the two seed, go to 16-2 and move on to take on Tampa in Sunday's championship game.
Caroline Gastonguay and
Abigail Cawley each tallied five points on three goals and two assists, while
Charlotte Gastonguay chipped in with two goals.
Courtney Martin had a team-high four draw controls, while
Claire Barber (7-3) collected a team-leading four ground balls in addition to making 12 saves on 27 shots faced.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter
- Charlotte Gastonguay opened the scoring at the 10:03 mark of the first, with FSC quickly tying the game 36 seconds later.
- Just over a minute after the Mocs tied it, Caroline Gastonguay put home her first of the game to put Rollins back in front, 2-1.
- Florida Southern got the next two goals before Jorie Alf tied the game at three, which is where the first quarter ended.
Second Quarter
- FSC regained the lead less than four minutes into the second, but Caroline Gastonguay's second of the day knotted things up at four at the 10:12 mark.
- The Mocs scored two straight to go up 6-4, but Abigail Cawley cut the deficit to one with 2:52 to go before halftime.
- Florida Southern scored less than a minute later, only to see Abigail Cawley find the net with just four seconds left in the half, making it a 7-6 game at the break.
Third Quarter
- The Mocs came out in the third quarter and scored back-to-back goals to push their lead to 9-6, the largest of the day up to that point.
- Abigail Cawley then completed her hat trick, and Charlotte Gastonguay and Caroline Bailey followed up with the next two goals, quickly tying things up at nine.
- FSC retook the lead once again with 1:14 on the clock, and the Mocs would carry a 10-9 advantage to the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
- Florida Southern scored 37 seconds into the fourth to make it 11-9, but Caroline Gastonguay and Claire Reist answered back with two goals in 39 seconds, tying the game for the sixth time at 11-11.
- The Mocs got the next three goals to take a 14-11 lead before a lightning delay of nearly two hours halted play.
- After the delay, FSC scored again to build its lead to 15-11.
- Madison McGarry and Courtney Martin both scored in the closing 30 seconds of the game, but it wasn't enough as the Tars fell, 15-13.
UP NEXT:
Rollins, currently ranked fourth in the South Region, will wait to find out if it earns an at-large bid to the NCAA II Tournament when the field is announced on Sunday, May 7.
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