#5 Mocs Upend Unbeaten #3 Fighting Knights

LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 5 Florida Southern stood tall against No. 3 Lynn Wednesday afternoon in another top five matchup at Berend Field, where the Moccasins knocked off the undefeated Fighting Knights 15-11 in Sunshine State Conference play.
 
Florida Southern moves to 12-1 overall and 2-1 in league play after defeating Lynn, who suffered its first loss, falling to 12-1 and 2-1 in SSC competition.
 
The duo of Abby McFerren and Giana Murphy paced the Moccasins with 11 combined points on seven goals and four assists. McFerren finished as the team leader with six points on four goals, also the game-winning-goal, and two assists, with Murphy right behind with five points on three goals and two assists.
 
Hannah Hale recorded a hat-trick in the game and finished with four points after tallying one assist, while Kolby Cohen, Danielle Mojsej, Jenna Vetter, and Hanna Watson each had two points.
 
Aside from Florida Southern owning the draw circle thanks to Maria Reeves' 12 and Audrey Cannelli's six, Rylie Rittberg stood tall in goal and tallied seven saves in 60 minutes to earn her 12^th win of the season. Charlie Laye was a defensive power where she caused five turnovers and scooped up three groundballs. She led a defensive unit that caused 15 total turnovers with Brayden Cannelli (3) and Gabriella Connelly (2) finishing with multiple caused turnovers.
 
Kristyn Johnson attempted to guide Lynn over Florida Southern, in search of the Fighting Knights' first-ever win over the Moccasins but fell short after posting six points with five goals and one assist. Five others had a multi-point game with Rebecca Clark going scoreless but tallying three assists.
 
Florida Southern jumped on Lynn 3-1 in the first quarter after Giana Murphy started things on a player-up goal at 10:56. After a Kristyn Johnson goal tied it at 9:20, Hannah Hale scored back-to-back goals with under a minute left in the period to give the Mocs the upper hand, 3-1.
 
A quick high-scoring second quarter saw five goals in the first five minutes. Abby McFerren opened the scoring in the second quarter at the 13:13 mark to allow Florida Southern to pull ahead by three, 4-1, but a short-lived lead fell by the wayside when the Fighting Knights ripped off three straight to tie things at 4-4 with 11:17 to play. Murphy scored at the 10:05 mark to give the Mocs a lead again. Hanna Watson pushed it to a two-goal difference, 6-4, Lynn again rallied and scored three straight to take a 7-6 advantage into the halftime break.
 
With over six minutes of scoreless lacrosse in the second half, Lynn scored back-to-back goals to extend its lead to 9-6 with 7:57 to go in the third quarter. Giana Murphy would score her third goal of the game on a free position shot, which closed the gap to 9-7 before the energy and momentum shifted to Florida Southern. Kolby Cohen and Jenna Vetter would each score to tie things at 9-9 as the third quarter ended.
 
A massive fourth quarter and quick start for Florida Southern allowed for the Mocs to start pulling away from the Fighting Knights. Hale tallied her third of the night to give the Mocs the 10-9 lead before goals rolled downhill in quick succession, as Florida Southern punched in six straight to take a 15-9 lead. Lynn got two late goals, but a little too late as the Moccasins held the ball for 47 seconds of the game.
 
No. 5 Florida Southern will hit the road for a quick trip to St. Leo, Fla., to face off with No. 7 Saint Leo at noon on Saturday, April 5 at University Turf Stadium.
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