#16 Florida Southern Uses Explosive Fourth Quarter to Down Lynn

LAKELAND, Fla. – The 16^th-ranked Florida Southern men's lacrosse team got off to a slow start Saturday afternoon as the Lynn Fighting Knights jumped all over the host Moccasins, outscoring the hosts 6-1 over the opening 15 minutes of action. The Mocs slowly worked their way back into the game before an explosive fourth quarter turned the tides as FSC outscored Lynn 11-1 in the period to earn a 19-14 Sunshine State Conference opening victory.
 
The victory moves Florida Southern to 6-3 on the season including 1-0 in SSC play while the Fighting Knights fell to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in league play.
 
Senior Kevin Horwitz dominated in the fourth at the X as he won all 12 face-offs in the period in route to 25-of-35 day in the middle. The senior also assisted on a goal and picked up a game-high 12 ground balls.
 
After getting off to a slow start, the Florida Southern offense found its rhythm as the game went along. Freshman Matt Flammenspeck, who had scored five total goals over the opening eight games of the season, doubled his season total in goals with five against the Fighting Knights to lead the way for FSC. The Calgary, Alberta native also picked up an assist to finish with six points on the day. He took a total of eight shots including seven on frame while causing one turnover.

Junior Sean Nolan led the team in points as he finished with four goals, three assists and seven points. He also led the way with 16 total shots, double his next highest teammate. He found the frame eight times and picked up six ground balls.

The assists leader for Saturday's contest was junior Kevin Dyer who handed out four helpers to go along with his two goals. The Slingerlands, N.Y. native posted seven shots including five on frame while causing a turnover and picking up a pair of ground balls.
 
In goal, junior Maxwell Freestone earned the start and picked up eight saves in the victory. He is now 4-2 on the year in-between the pipes.
 
Matthew Ilchuk led the Fighting Knights with three goals while four others had two goals each.
 
Florida Southern out-shot Lynn 61-32 including 35-22 in shots on goal. In the dominant fourth quarter, the Mocs out-shot the Fighting Knights 24-6 including 16-4 in shots on goal.
 
The Fighting Knights jumped all over the Mocs in the opening 15 minutes of action, scoring the opening six goals of the game before FSC netted a tally with just under four minutes left in the period. Trailing 6-1 after 15 minutes of action, the Mocs scored two of the first three goals of the second quarter but Lynn would score the final two goals of the period to take a 9-3 lead into the halftime break.
 
Following the break, the Mocs came out on fire scoring five-straight goals over the opening seven-plus minutes of action. The run cut the deficit to just one but Lynn was not done as the Fighting Knights responded with a four-goal spurt of their own to end the period up 13-8.
 
With the game on the line, Florida Southern came out determined to claim the victory. FSC scored five goals over the opening five minutes of the period to tie the game at 13-13 with 10:01 left in the contest. With momentum fully on the Florida Southern sideline, the onslaught would continue as FSC eventually scored 11-straight in the period to hold a commanding 19-13 lead with just 3:40 left in the game. Lynn scored one more goal on a man-up situation but that would be all the Fighting Knights could muster as the Mocs hung on for the 19-14 victory.
 
The Mocs will return to action this Tuesday, March 22 at 7 p.m. as they host their final non-conference opponent of the regular season as Frostburg State visits Berend Field. FSU received votes in the most recent USILA Top-20 Poll. Read Full Article