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Men's Lacrosse Advances to National Championship Game for Third Time in Program History
May 17, 2026

Men's Lacrosse Advances to National Championship Game for Third Time in Program History

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TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men's lacrosse team is headed to the NCAA National Championship after a dominant 13–7 victory over Anderson University on Sunday afternoon at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex. With the win, the Spartans improve to 21-1 overall and advance to the NCAA title game.
 
How It Happened
Tampa came out attacking from the opening faceoff and wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Aaron Cho opened the scoring just 57 seconds into the contest, dodging through multiple defenders before burying an unassisted finish to give the Spartans an early 1–0 advantage. Anderson answered less than two minutes later as Brodie Deutsch found Cole Sparks cutting inside for the equalizer.
The Trojans continued to pressure offensively throughout the first quarter and grabbed their first lead midway through the frame. Brayden Bushnoe delivered a pass across the crease to Sparks, who finished his second goal of the afternoon to put Anderson ahead 2–1. Tampa quickly regrouped and began to settle into its offensive rhythm over the next several possessions. The Spartans tied the contest at the 5:39 mark when Justin Conly spotted Jackson Bashaw cutting toward the middle and connected for a clean finish in front of the cage. Just over a minute later, Tampa capitalized again in transition as Zack Friend fed Rex Kesselring for a low finish that gave the Spartans a 3–2 lead. Anderson continued to battle late in the quarter and found another equalizer after Radyn Badraun forced his way inside and scored unassisted with 2:29 remaining, sending the game into the second quarter tied at 3–3.
 
Tampa completely shifted momentum in the second quarter behind dominant possession and a suffocating defensive effort. The Spartans controlled the faceoff X throughout the frame, allowing Anderson little offensive rhythm while consistently creating extra possessions on the other end. Kesselring sparked the second-quarter run less than 90 seconds into the period, splitting defenders before finishing an unassisted strike to reclaim the lead for Tampa. Aaron Cho added to the advantage midway through the quarter after creating separation at the top of the offensive set and firing home his second goal of the game to make it 5–3.
The Spartans continued to dictate the pace physically and defensively, holding Anderson to only two shots in the entire quarter while forcing several difficult possessions deep into the shot clock. Tampa extended the lead late in the half as Rafe Bradshaw created space on the left wing and buried an unassisted goal with just over two minutes remaining. Moments later, Anderson was called for consecutive penalties, and Tampa capitalized on the extra-man opportunity. Jackson Bashaw delivered a pass across the crease to Eric Burbank, who finished from point-blank range with 1:05 left before halftime to give the Spartans a commanding 7–3 lead at the break.
 
Tampa carried its momentum into the second half and wasted little time adding to the lead once again. Just over a minute into the third quarter, Cho completed his hat trick with another unassisted goal after dodging downhill through the middle of the Anderson defense. The Trojans attempted to respond midway through the quarter as Brodie Deutsch scored unassisted to trim the deficit back to four, but Tampa answered immediately. Matthew Vara threaded a pass through traffic to Zack Friend on the crease, and Friend finished cleanly to restore the Spartans' five-goal cushion at 9–4.
Anderson continued to fight and mounted its strongest offensive stretch of the afternoon midway through the third quarter. Following a Tampa penalty, Sammy Lewis converted on the man-up opportunity off a feed from Sparks. Less than two minutes later, Deutsch found Matthew Rodgers for another goal that cut the deficit to 9–6 and briefly shifted momentum toward the Trojans.
Tampa once again delivered a timely response before the end of the quarter. Tommy Ortega powered through contact near the crease and finished an unassisted goal with 2:52 remaining to halt the Anderson run and send the Spartans into the fourth quarter leading 10–6.
 
The Spartans closed the game in dominant fashion during the final quarter. Matthew Vara opened the scoring less than 90 seconds into the frame with an unassisted finish after forcing a turnover in transition. Cho then added his fourth goal of the afternoon midway through the quarter, beating his defender from the wing and extending Tampa's lead to six goals.
Tampa continued to control possession behind strong faceoff play from MP Thomas, and the Spartans added one final insurance goal when Cho connected with Kesselring in transition for his third goal of the game and a 13–6 advantage. Anderson added one final goal from Ryan Bitterman with six minutes remaining, but Tampa's defense shut down any hopes of a late comeback. The Spartans controlled the closing possessions, dominated the ground ball battle 33–20, outshot Anderson 54–26, and secured the 13–7 NCAA Semifinal victory to punch their ticket to the national championship game.
 
Spartan Performances
  • Aaron Cho led the offense with four goals and one assist.
  • Rex Kesselring recorded a hat trick while adding four shots on goal.
  • Zack Friend finished with one goal and one assist.
  • Matthew Vara contributed one goal and one assist.
  • Jackson Bashaw added one goal and one assist while collecting three ground balls.
  • Eric Burbank and Tommy Ortega each found the back of the net.
  • MP Thomas dominated at the faceoff X, winning 13-of-21 faceoffs with five ground balls.
  • Noah Driggs led the Spartans with seven ground balls defensively.
  • Westin Schmidt earned the victory in goal with 10 saves.
  • The Spartans advance to the national championship game for the second consecutive season.
  • This is the third time in program history that Tampa will play for the NCAA title.
  • Tampa finishes the season undefeated at home for the second straight season.
Up Next
The Spartans advance to the NCAA National Championship and will compete for the national title next weekend. Tampa will take on Adelphi in what will be a rematch of the 2025 NCAA National Championship game in Charlottesville, Virginia on Sunday, May 24 at 4:00 p.m.