No. 16 Mocs Seek Programs First SSC Championship at No. 3 Rollins

LAKELAND, Fla. – The 16^th-ranked and third-seeded Florida Southern men's lacrosse team will travel to third-ranked and top-seeded Rollins Sunday afternoon for the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championship. The 2023 SSC Tournament Championship game appearance is the second-straight for the Moccasins and third overall in the program's history. 

 
Location: Winter Park, Fla.
Stadium: Barker Family Stadium at Cahall-Sandspur Field
Opening Faceoff: 1:00 p.m.
Coverage: Live Stats – www.fscmocs.com/stats; Video – www.fscmocs.com/live
 


3rd Seed – The Moccasins – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
No. 16 Florida Southern advances to its second-straight Sunshine State Conference Championship game after defeating No. 7 Tampa in the semifinals Thursday night on the road. The victory was just the second all-time in program history versus the Spartans and first since 2012. The win also snapped Tampa's home winning streak which dated back to the 2019 season and gave the Spartans their first loss in an SSC Tournament, previously they were 14-0.  
 
The Mocs have won 11 of their last 13 contests with their two losses coming at home versus then-No. 8 Tampa, 17-8, and on the road at then-No. 6 Rollins 14-6. All four of the Mocs losses have come to top-20 ranked programs.

Senior Sean Nolan leads the Mocs offensive attack as he leads the team in points (73) while ranking second on the squad in goals (48) and is tied for second in assists (25). The Cross River, N.Y. native ranks second in the SSC in points per contest (4.29) while ranking sixth in goals per game (2.82) and fifth in assists per game (1.47). Despite the impressive numbers, Nolan was left off the first and second All-SSC teams and was named Honorable Mention. Sophomore Matt Flammenspeck, a Second Team All-SSC selection, leads the Mocs with 50 goals this season. The Calgary, Alberta native became just the third Moccasin in program history to surpass the 50-goal plateau joining Nolan who achieved 57 goals during the 2022 season and Dane Sorensen (2012-15) who poured in 63 goals in 2014. 
 
The Florida Southern offensive attack has been one of the best in the country all season. FSC boasts five goal scorers with 20-plus goals and 11 with 10-plus. Overall, the Mocs have scored 20-or-more goals in a program record nine contests this season, the previous record was five set during last season.
 
On the defensive side of the field, seniors Nick Shannon and Zac Fitzgerald patrol opposite sides of the field and have caused a combined 70 turnovers this season including a program record 49 from Shannon and 21 from Fitzgerald. Shannon ranks second in the SSC in caused turnovers per game at 2.88 while ranking fourth in NCAA DII. Shannon was named Second Team All-SSC as well. Fitzgerald ranks 14^th in the SSC in 82^nd nationally in the category. Senior Griffin Phillips and graduate student Craig Connor, a First Team All-SSC selection, have patrolled the midfield defensively for the Mocs. Phillips, an LSM, is tied for second on the team with 21 caused turnovers while Connor, who is a defensive midfielder, sits just behind in fourth with 19. The quartet along with the rest of their defensive teammates are backed up by junior goalie Michael Simone who has posted an 11-2 record this season with an impressive 9.27 goals against average, which ranks 10^th in NCAA DII this season. He has faced 404 shots this season and has a .535 saves percentage with 123 total stops. His 11 victories tie him for the FSC single season record previously held by Matt Lalli (2014-17) who went 11-4 during the 2014 season.
 
Freshman Jacob Czyz returned from injury Thursday night to help lead the Mocs to victory. The face off specialist had missed the last three-plus contests after suffering an injury versus Tampa during the regular season. Czyz was selected as a First Team All-SSC selection and currently is 174-of-319 (.545) in the middle with a team-best 103 ground balls. 
 
As a team, the Mocs lead the SSC in goals per game (18.12), assists per game (9.94), points per game (28.06), shots per game (52.82), shots on goal per game (31.47), man-up goals per game (1.65), man-up scoring percentage (.418), ground balls per game (40.82) and caused turnovers per game (14.00).
 
Overall in NCAA Division II, the Mocs rank in the top-10 in several categories including leading the country in caused turnovers per game (14.00) and total points (477). The Mocs also rank in the top-10 in total assists (2^nd, 169), total ground balls (2^nd, 694), scoring offense (2^nd, 18.12), opponent clear percentage (3^rd, 0.731), points per game (4^th, 28.06), ground balls per game (5^th, 40.82), scoring margin (5^th, +8.24), clearing percentage (8^th, 0.886), assists per game (9^th, 9.94) and shot percentage (9^th, .343).
 
1st Seed – The Tars – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
No. 3 Rollins closed out the 2023 regular season with an impressive 13-1 overall record including a perfect 7-0 in Sunshine State Conference action. The Tars took down fourth-seed Saint Leo Thursday night 17-9 to advance to their second Sunshine State Conference Championship game in program history and first since 2016. The Tars lone loss this season came in a neutral site contest versus Colorado Mesa in Salt Lake City, Utah, 15-10. Rollins is currently riding a nine-game win streak.  
 
The Tars have been led offensively this season by a three-headed attack who were all named First Team All-SSC. Junior Mikey Berkman has a team-best 68 points thanks to 35 goals and a team-high 33 assists. Sophomore Jack Johnstone has poured in a team-high 49 goals this season while handing out 11 assists while sophomore Grant Hansen sits second in goals with 37 while also ranking second in assists with 20. In total, the Tars boast five attackers with 20-plus goals and seven with 10-or-more.
 
Defensively, First Team All-SSC selection graduate student Justin Isenhour has been causing fits for opposing defenses with a team-best 34 caused turnovers, 13 more than his next highest teammate. Junior Benjamin Kopen patrols the midfield as an LSM and was named First Team All-SSC. He ranks second on the team with 21 caused turnovers while scoring one goal and dishing out an assist. The Tars welcomed in Syracuse transfer and Sean Nolan's former high school teammate Shahé Katchadurian to patrol the goal for Rollins. In his first season, he is 13-1 and was named the SSC Player of the Year. He has faced 504 shots this season while making 172 saves with an impressive .599 saves percentage. He has a 9.00 goals against average in 767-plus minutes this season.
 
At the face, the Tars have used five different student-athletes at the position with the majority of the action going to sophomores Thomas Garvin and Lake Baker. Garvin, a Second Team All-SSC selection, has won 124-of-217 (.571) face offs this season while Baker has gone 88-of-172 (.512). Neither have faced off against First Team All-SSC selection Jacob Czyz this season as he missed the Rollins contest due to injury.
 
The Tars rank in the top-10 in just one statistical category in the NCAA and that is shot percentage where they rank seventh with a .344 clip. Individually, Katchadurian ranks third in the NCAA in save percentage (.598) and ninth in goals against average (9.10) while Berkman ranks ninth in assists per game (2.36).

   
Head-to-Head
Florida Southern holds the edge in the overall series with Rollins, 10-7, but have lost five of the last seven meetings. The Mocs won the first five meetings between the two squads dating between 2009 and 2012. The Tars first victory in the series came March 20, 2013 in Winter Park, a 10-7 win. FSC then won two-straight contests before the Tars went on to win six of the next nine contests between 2016 and now. The Mocs have faced the Tars twice in postseason play. FSC defeated Rollins 7-4 in the opening round of the 2010 Deep South Conference Tournament and again won over the Tars last season in the 2022 SSC semifinals.   


Last Meeting
Florida Southern traveled to Rollins on Wednesday, April 12 for a battle with the then-ranked No. 6 Tars. Rollins outscored the Mocs 6-1 in the opening quarter to pull away for the eventual 14-6 victory.
 
Freshman Nolan Tighe and junior Brendan Glasser led the way offensively for the Mocs as they each scored a pair of goals while three others each tallied one. Graduate student Andrew Medeiros earned a pair of points with a goal and an assist. Medeiros and senior Nick Shannon each caused a pair of turnovers to lead the defensive effort while senior Sean Nolan led with three ground balls.
 
Junior Michael Simone faced a flurry of shots on the night as he made 15 saves while facing 29 total shots on goal. Simone's counterpart, Syracuse transfer Shahe Katchadurian made 12 saves for the Tars while facing 18 shots on goal.
 
The Tars were led by Mikey Berkman who led all players with six points on five goals and an assist, while Grant Hansen tallied two goals and two assists and William Metz scored three goals. Benjamin Kopen and Justin White each caused a game-high three turnovers, with Kopen adding a goal and White adding three ground balls and an assist. Lake Baker was 15-for-18 in faceoffs with a game-high six ground balls, while Justin Isenhour tied him with a game-high six ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers and an assist.
 
The Tars were able to dominate at the face off winning 20-of-23 taken including every single face off in the opening two quarters as First Team All-SSC selection Jacob Czyz was out due to injury.


SSC Tournament History
Since the Sunshine State Conference began holding men's lacrosse tournaments, the Spartans have won all seven Championships dating back to 2014. The league did not hold a tournament in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The Mocs are 3-4 all-time in SSC Tournament history including Thursday night's victory over Tampa. 2023 will mark the Mocs' third appearance in the SSC Championship game falling in 2014 to Tampa 11-6 and last season to the Spartans 18-8.
 
The Tars are 2-6 all-time in SSC Tournament history with both their victories coming against Saint Leo. Rollins advanced to the 2016 SSC Championship game after defeating Saint Leo 10-9 and used a 17-9 victory Thursday night to punch its ticket to the second title game in program history. The Tars fell to Tampa, 16-7, in the 2016 Championship game.