Tampa Collects Road Victory Over Mercy

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – No. 5 University of Tampa women's lacrosse delivered another strong offensive performance on Saturday morning, defeating No. 25 Mercy University 19–7 at Mercy Field. With the victory, the Spartans improve to 3–1 on the season, while the Mavericks fall to 4–1.

How It Happened

Tampa wasted little time establishing control, striking just under a minute into the contest. Audrey Kahoun opened the scoring at the 14:06 mark, finishing a feed from Peyton Howell to give the Spartans the early advantage.

The Spartans quickly built momentum as Isabel McGarvey scored off an assist from Mary Kate Person before Howell added an unassisted goal to extend the lead to 3–0. Person then found the back of the net herself with a strong individual effort, pushing the margin to four midway through the opening quarter.

Mercy answered with a player-up goal at 6:21, but Tampa responded immediately with another scoring burst. Person connected with McGarvey for another tally before McGarvey assisted Josie Bullock in transition. McGarvey and Person continued their chemistry in the closing minutes of the period, combining for two more goals to give the Spartans an 8–1 lead after the first quarter.

The Mavericks made a push early in the second quarter, scoring five unanswered goals over the first six minutes of the frame — including three player-up tallies — to cut the deficit to 8–6.

Tampa quickly halted the run late in the half. Person netted another goal at 3:26 off a Howell assist before Howell scored back-to-back goals in the final seconds of the quarter, including one with one second remaining off a pass from Jenna Myhal, sending the Spartans into halftime with an 11–6 advantage.

The Spartans regained full control in the third quarter, opening with another goal from Person before Bullock scored twice in just over two minutes to spark a Tampa surge. Jill Cobaugh added her first goal of the afternoon off a feed from Maddie Szyluk, extending the lead to 15–6 heading into the final period.

Tampa continued to dictate possession and tempo in the fourth quarter. Person opened the scoring with her sixth goal of the game off an assist from Bullock. After Mercy added its lone goal of the period, Howell responded with a strike off a Person assist to keep the Spartans firmly in command.

The Spartans added two more late goals to seal the victory. Alexa Borges converted on a player-up opportunity off a Person assist, and Sia Markowski capped the afternoon with a goal in the final seconds off a Borges setup to secure the 19–7 win.

Spartan Performances

• Person led the offensive effort with six goals and four assists, recording a 10-point performance to pace the Spartans.
• Howell added four goals and two assists, contributing on multiple scoring runs throughout the game.
• Bullock recorded a hat trick with three goals and one assist, while McGarvey added two goals and three assists to help drive Tampa's attack.
• Borges contributed a goal and an assist, while Cobaugh, Kahoun, and Markowski each added a goal.
• In the draw circle, Kierstyn Zinter led the Spartans with six draw controls, while Markowski added five and Szyluk collected four as Tampa secured a 17–10 draw advantage.
• Defensively, the Spartans forced 23 turnovers while collecting 20 ground balls, with Markowski recording four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
• In goal, Savvy Barbosa played all 60 minutes and recorded eight saves to earn the victory.

Up Next

The Spartans will continue their road stretch next week as they prepare for Pace on Monday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m.