#4 Women's Lacrosse Hosts #8 Rollins for SSC Semifinals

LAKELAND, Fla. – The fourth-ranked Florida Southern Moccasins are set to host the eighth-ranked Rollins Tars in the 2023 Sunshine State Conference Semifinals for the second straight season at Berend Field at the Barnett Athletic Complex.
 
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Stadium: Berend Field
Opening Faceoff: 7:00 p.m.
Coverage: Live Stats – www.fscmocs.com/stats; Video – www.fscmocs.com/live
 
2nd seed – The Moccasins 15-2, 6-1 SSC – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Florida Southern College posted a 15-2 record and ended the regular season on a five-game win streak. The Moccasins clinched a spot in the SSC tournament for the seventh time, having 10 Sunshine State Conference championships, four via from the tournament.
 
The Mocs played one of the toughest schedules in the country playing 14 teams either receiving votes or ranked in the ILWomen/IWLCA Division II Coaches Poll. Florida Southern started the season off with a pair of wins in North Carolina before knocking off then-no. 2 Adelphi 15-10 at home.
 
Florida Southern added five more wins over teams ranked in the top-15 on its way to closing the season with a 21-6 game on April 22 against Palm Beach Atlantic.
 
On the season, Jackie Stoller stands as the team leader in points (86), goals (54), and assists (32). The Wayland, Mass. native's points in a single season (86) currently ranks seventh all-time in program history for a single season where her goals (54) ranks eighth all-time, five shy of 2022 scoring champion Hailey Daleo's 59 goals. Her 32 assists this season cracked the top-10 in program history.
 
In goal, Rylie Rittberg and Sydney O'Neill have shared most of the work posting records of 8-1 and 5-1 respectively with the other two wins for the Mocs going to McKenzie Gaghan. Rittberg played 549:18 minutes during the regular season with 56 saves for a .354 save percentage whereas O'Neill played 342:06 minutes with 38 saves on a .352 save percentage.
 
As a team, the Mocs average 18.29 goals per game and hold opponents to 11.71. Florida Southern has scored over 10 goals in all 17 games including 20-plus goals in eight games with a season-high of 26 goals against Embry-Riddle that tied the program record for goals in a game and sits as the mark for an SSC contest.
 
3rd seed – The Tars 15-2, 5-2 SSC – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Rollins posted a 15-2 mark in the season with a 5-2 record in SSC play, winning the final two games of the regular season. The Tars clinched a spot in the SSC tournament for the seventh time, having three Sunshine State Conference titles, one via the tournament in 2015, the first title in conference history.
 
The Tars played 10 teams that were either ranked or receiving votes going 8-2 in those set of games, falling to then-no. 4 Florida Southern (17-15) and to then-no. 4 Tampa (17-7).
 
On the season, Abigail Cawley is the team leader in points (79) and assists (49), while she is third in goals (33) to Caroline Gastonguay (48) and Charlotte Gastonguay (34). Caroline Gastonguay is the only other player on the team to eclipse the 50-points on the season with 76, trailing Cawley by just three.
 
In goal, Claire Barber played 14 games between the pipes with 644:35 minutes. Barber has a 7-2 record with 77 saves for a .435 save percentage. Rachel Schlesinger has played in nine games for 287:54 minutes with 22 saves and a 6-0 record ahead of Anya Studebaker's 1-0 record in four games of action with just shy of 90 minutes.
 
As a team, the Tars average 14.47 goals per game and hold opponents to 8.71. Rollins has scored 10-or-more goals in 15 of the team's 17 games with a season-high 21 coming against Palm Beach Atlantic in a 21-4 win. The Tars failed to score 10 goals in a 9-8 win over Embry-Riddle and a 17-7 loss at Tampa.
 
Head-to-Head – FSC Leads 11-7
Florida Southern leads the head-to-head meetings 11-7 including the 17-15 win earlier this season. In the all-time series, the Mocs are 9-3 when playing the Tars in Lakeland. In the 2022 SSC semifinal, Florida Southern defeated Rollins 17-11 at Berend Field to remain undefeated against Rollins in SSC tournament play, 4-0.
 
Last Meeting
In the last meeting back on April 8, the fourth-ranked Florida Southern Mocs defeated the seventh-ranked Tars 17-15. Rollins won the first period, outscoring Florida Southern 4-3 before the Mocs flipped the board and used a 6-3 second to take a 9-7 lead into halftime. Another period with six goals allowed Florida Southern to stay in front, 15-12, heading to the final period. Rollins outscored Florida Southern 3-2 in the final stanza as the game ended, 17-15, in favor of the Moccasins.
 
Jackie Stoller was the game's leading scorer with six goals and she also finished with the most points (8) following a pair of assists. Hailey Daleo (4), Abby McFerren (2), Lizzy Lynch (2), Giana Murphy (2) and Madison Tare (1) rounded out the Florida Southern goal scorers while Rollins had nine scorers led by Madison McGarry and Lauren Noonan with three apiece.
 
The Tars' sisters of Charlotte and Caroline Gastonguay each had two goals apiece.
 
In goal, Sydney O'Neill earned the win after 60 minutes and six saves while Claire Barber suffered the loss after 49:07 in goal with five saves.
 
2023 SSC Tournament
The Sunshine State Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament opens with semifinal action on Thursday, April 27th. Higher seeds will host all three games in this year's tournament and broadcast them via the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network.

After winning the program's fourth regular-season championship, Tampa claims the No. 1 seed in the postseason tournament. The Spartans finished 7-0 to secure the program's second consecutive outright title after sharing the trophy in 2019 and 2021. Florida Southern finished 6-1 in league play and is awarded the No. 2 seed, while Rollins lands at No. 3 following a 5-2 mark. Embry-Riddle is the No. 4 seed and will compete in the tournament for the first time in program history.

Tampa will host ERAU in the semifinal round. The Spartans bested the Eagles, 14-7, on April 19th in Daytona Beach. Florida Southern hosts Rollins in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. The Moccasins won the only meeting between the two squads this year, 17-15, in Winter Park on April 8th. The Moccasins own a 3-1 advantage over RC in the SSC tournament. FSC defeated RC in the 2016 title game and the 2018 semifinals. Rollins won the first meeting of the programs in the tournament, which came in the 2015 title game.

In 2022 Tampa and Florida Southern represented the league in the NCAA tournament. Tampa bowed out in the first round, while FSC advanced to the quarterfinals. Both programs were eliminated by national semifinalist Queens. Florida Southern won the national title in 2016 and finished as national runner-up in 2017 and 2019. The SSC also earned multiple NCAA berths each year from 2016 to 2019. The 2020 NCAA and 2020 & 2021 SSC tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19.