Men's Lacrosse Set to Host Saint Leo in SSC Championship
The Spartans are set to compete in their sixth consecutive SSC Championship.
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 19 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team is set to host the Saint Leo University Lions on Sunday, April 28th at 2:00 p.m. for the Sunshine State Conference Championship game. This is the Spartans sixth straight SSC Championship appearance. UT has won the conference tournament the last five years.
The Matchup: University of Tampa (13-5) vs. Saint Leo University (10-6)
Date/Time: Sunday, April 28th at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex | Tampa, Fla.
Last Time Out: The University of Tampa Spartans defeated the Rollins College Tars 16-11 in the SSC Semifinals. In the contest, Andrew Kew had an outstanding three goals and three assists for UT, followed by Bryan Wright , Luke Curran, and Colin White each with three goals. Chris Cox also played extremely well for UT. Cox had two goals and two assists. Defensively, Nicholas Perrot and Jack Tyrrell each earned two caused turnovers. Ross Dickerson went 19-26 off the faceoff X. He led the team in ground balls with 11. Finally, Bryan Karn logged 58:35 at the keeper position. Karn faced 21 shots and recorded 11 saves on the day.
About the Spartans: Tampa is 13-5 on the 2019 season, and finished regular season SSC competition 6-1. After falling out of the USILA national ranking for the first time since the 2015 season, UT has battled their way back into the national spotlight, and now sits at No. 19 in the most recent coaches poll. The Spartans are led offensively by senior Andrew Kew. Kew has 87 points on the season made up of a team-high of 53 goals and 34 assists. Recently, Kew became the all-time Division II leading goal scorer, and was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year. Senior, and 2019 SSC Honorable Mention, Matt Vetter is second on the team in points with 64. Vetter has scored 32 goals and has stated 32 assists as well during his senior campaign. Sophomore Colin White is third on the team in points with 57. He has 47 goals and 10 assists on the season. Defensively, Sam Collingwood has a team-high of 22 caused turnovers on top of his 22 ground balls, while SSC second-team selection and captain, Luke Robideaux, has 14 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls. Junior Ross Dickerson remains one of the best faceoff specialists in the nation. He currently has the fourth best face-off winning percentage in all Division II with 75.1%. Dickerson has won 336-448 face-offs from the X and has a team-high of 201 recorded ground balls. Earlier this week, Dickerson was named an All-SSC first-team selection. Finally, at keeper, the Spartans have been primarily using the returning SSC Freshman of the Year, B.J. Borowski, or senior Bryan Karn. Borowski has 97 saves on the season and a goals against average of 11.01, while Karn has logged 58 saves and has a goals against average of 11.21. This is the Spartans sixth straight SSC Tournament appearance. Tampa has won the tournament the last five consecutive years and is looking to hoist the trophy once again this season.
About the Lions: Last season the Saint Leo Lions hosted the SSC Championship contest, where they were defeated by UT, 8-6. This season the Lions have gone 10-6 and entered the SSC tournament as the No. 4 seed. In the SSC Semifinals, the Lions upset No. 1 seed Lynn University by a final score of 11-10 in OT. Offensively, the Lions are led by #25 Charlie Kurtenbach, and #0 Philip Buque. Kurtenbach has 71 points this season made up of 40 goals and 31 assists. Buque has accumulated 66 points, with 48 goals and 18 assists. Defensively, Saint Leo's biggest threat is #21 Ethan Ticehurst who has caused the most turnovers for the Lions this season with 28. He also has stated 53 ground balls. Saint Leo's faceoff specialist is #1 Jordan Williams who has a record of 175-356 from the X. Finally, at goalkeeper, the Lions have primarily used #32 Thomas Tatarian who has a goals against average of 11.91 and had 188 saves in the regular season.
Series History (Men's): Tampa leads the all-time series over Saint Leo 8-3.
Tickets: SSC Tournament tickets will be available at the gate for $8. UT and Saint Leo students will be admitted free when showing a valid student ID. Children under 12 will also be admitted free.