#4 Mocs Fall in SSC Championship to #3 Spartans in Overtime

TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 4 Florida Southern women's lacrosse team fell to No. 3 Tampa, 17-16 in overtime, in the 2023 Sunshine State Conference Championship at Naimoli Family Athletic Complex Sunday afternoon.
 
The Moccasins (16-3) saw seven different goal scorers in the loss led by Lizzy Lynch who scored four goals while adding an assist for a game-high five points. Madison Tare joined Lynch with five points where she tied Jackie Stoller and Hailey Daleo with three goals apiece.
 
Sydney O'Neill played 62:08 of the overtime game registering 12 saves, mirroring her career-high 12 saves against the Spartans earlier this season.
 
Maria Reeves, who tallied a goal in the game, led the Mocs with five draw controls ahead of Tare's four while Abby McFerren led the team in caused turnovers with three. McFerren, too, added one goal on the day.

Following the conclusion of the game, Madison Tare, Hailey Daleo, and Jackie Stoller were all named to the 2023 SSC Tournament Team. 
 
Tampa (17-2) saw nine different goal scorers paced by Jenna Myhal and Olivia Mott who each had three goals. Myhal tied for the game-high five points adding two assists to her afternoon. Alex Walling played the fulltime in goal and had six saves on the day.
 
The Spartans got on the board quick on a player-down goal after Sarah Hinkle received a yellow card a mere five seconds into the game. Olivia Mott registered a goal at 14:10 to take the lead, a lead that was short lived as the Mocs rattled off five straight for a 5-1 first period lead.
 
Another Tampa yellow card gave Madison Tare an opportunity to tie the game at one, in which she netted the equalizer on the ensuing play, 1-1. Hailey Daleo gave the Mocs the 2-1 lead before Jackie Stoller score two straight goals, just 40-seconds apart for the 4-1 lead. Daleo followed Stoller's two goals with her second with 53-seconds to play in the opening period.
 
Florida Southern continued to push as the second quarter started with three straight goals from Abby McFerren, Maria Reeves, and Lizzy Lynch to make it 8-1 with 6:55 to play in the half. Tampa outscored Florida Southern 3-2 in the final six minutes for a 10-4 halftime score in favor of the Mocs. Stoller scored her third and Lynch her second in the final minutes of the half.
 
It took just under two minutes for a team to score in the third as the Spartans cut into the deficit with an Olivia Mott goal, where Tare answered 50-seconds later to keep it 11-5 FSC. The Spartans would rattle off three straight to make it 11-8, before Lynch ended that run to get the lead back to four. The brief lead was erased as Tampa scored six goals to claim a 14-12 lead. Sammy Gorrasi closed the quarter with a goal with 40-seconds to go to bring the game to within one, 14-13 UT.
 
The fourth started with the team's trading goals as Tare tied it, 14-14, and Sarah Hinkle gave the Spartans the lead once again, 15-14 with 13:37 to play. The two teams traded goals as the game headed to the end of regulation, 16-16, as Lynch and Daleo each sored in the final 13 minutes for the Mocs.
 
With 1:49 to play in overtime, Tampa would get the game-winning-goal from Lizzie Pierpont for the 17-16 win and the SSC Championship.
 
The No. 4 Mocs will await the NCAA selection show set for Sunday, May 7 at 8:30 p.m. to determine the Mocs' postseason fate. To watch the selection show for the 2023 NCAA DII Women's Lacrosse Championship, head to www.NCAA.com.

2023 Sunshine State Conference All-Tournament Team
Madison Tare, Florida Southern
Hailey Daleo, Florida Southern
Jackie Stoller, Florida Southern
Riley McGettigan, Tampa*
Dani Waters, Tampa
Lizzie Pierpont, Tampa
Allie Peebles, Tampa
CeCe Colombo, Tampa
Caroline Gastonguay, Rollins
Claire Barber, Rollins
Aubrey Fixen, Embry-Riddle
Alexa Zeruto, Embry-Riddle
*Most Outstanding Player Read Full Article