WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 2, 2024) - Women's soccer put together a dominant performance that led to an upset of the previously unbeaten and #6 nationally ranked Tampa Spartans on Wednesday night. With the 4-1 win, the Tars move to 5-1-1 (2-0 SSC), while the Spartans fall to 4-1-1 (0-1 SSC).
The story of the night was junior
Lexie Cooper who netted her first career hat trick, scoring three goals in 72 minutes of play. Redshirt junior
Briyah Drayton had a fantastic game as well, scoring once and adding two assists.
Things did not start well for the Tars. Tampa owned the first six minutes of the match, finding the net early on following a beautiful cross from Tali O'Leary to the foot of Mimi Cronquist.
Rollins showed incredible moxie after falling behind early to the top-ten team. It only took them six minutes to equalize. After a Tampa foul,
Blaire Pressley organized a set piece and delivered a beautiful cross. Dryaton's header was saved by the Tampa goalie, but Cooper was able to power home the rebound to tie the game.
No further scoring happened in the first half, but Rollins established their dominance in time of possession, and also outshot the Spartans 7-2.
Five minutes into the second half,
Kayla Park boomed a corner kick to the middle of the box. The ball was met by Drayton's head, and this time she delivered, putting Rollins ahead 2-1.
Just three minutes later, Rollins struck again. Following a scrum for a loose ball, Drayton gained possession and passed back to an open
Peyton Massie. The senior instantly sent the ball in to a streaking Cooper, who blasted the ball into the top corner to make it 3-1.
The final strike came when Drayton once again found an open Cooper in the 60th minute, this time on the far side of the box. Cooper's initial shot was saved, but the rebound came right back to her, and she slipped it into the net complete the hat trick.
Rollins had the upper-hand across the board. They outshot Tampa 16-2, had ten shots on goal to Tampa's two, and set up seven corners to Tampa's two. Their four goals against the Spartans are their most since a 6-0 victory in the 2014 SSC Tournament.
Rollins initially had a bye for the upcoming weekend, but will now head to Melbourne to on Saturday October 5 to complete their September 25th game against Florida Tech. The two teams had their initial matchup suspended due to Lightning in the 57th minute.
