The No. 16 Tampa Spartans made it look easy with a 20-4 home win over the Florida Tech Panthers on Wednesday, in a Sunshine State Conference women’s lacrosse tussle.
The loss was the Panthers’ second straight, dropping them to 8-3 overall, and 1-3 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Lizzie Pierpont and Emma McLoughlin scored four goals each for the Spartans and Julia Kolderman had a hat trick. Cece Colombo and Madison Birch scored two goals apiece as the Spartans kept the pedal to the floor throughout.
The Spartans had a 10-goal lead with 31 seconds left in the first half and never looked back as the running clock persisted in the second half.
Charlotte Hardie gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead on a free-position shot. Colombo would tie the game just over a minute later before Kayla Minton gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with 11:07 to go in the first.
That was the last time the Panthers would find the back of the net for quite a while. Pierpont and McLoughlin would combine to score four of the next five Tampa goals. O’Neill Galinson scored to make it 7-2 before Kellen Lucchesi took over in goal for starter Cailey Canessa. Kolderman scored 1:03 later to make it 8-2 at the end of the first stanza.
Tampa 7-6, 3-1 SSC) scored four times in the second quarter to extend their lead to 12-2 at the break. A five-goal third quarter made it 17-2. Emily Harris was in goal for Florida Tech to start the fourth quarter.
Sarah Hinkle, Kolderman, and Pierpont each scored to start the final 15 minutes, meaning the Spartans scored 19 consecutive goals and led 20-2. The streak was broken by Kasia Lorenc who scored a free-position goal with 4:39 to go. The final goal of the game came off the stick of Kylie Morris, who scored with 35 seconds left.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Tampa Box Score
Tampa dominated in shots 32-13 and 25-8 in shots on goal. The Spartans held a 16-10 advantage in draw controls and 14-5 in caused turnovers. Florida Tech went 11-for-12 on clears, while Tampa was 11-for-13.
The Panthers return home Saturday to take on #25 Lynn in a 3:00 p.m. match at Florida Tech Panther Stadium.