Championship Sunday: #3 Mocs Visit #1 Spartans for SSC Tournament Title

No. 3 Florida Southern advanced to the ninth Sunshine State Conference Championship for the ninth time after defeating No. 4 Embry-Riddle in the semifinals Thursday, 13-6, at Berend Field. The Moccasins will travel to Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex on Sunday, April 27^th, for a noon meeting with the No. 1 Tampa Spartans in the 2025 SSC Women's Lacrosse Championship, presented by Pollo Campero. The matchup with the Moccasins and Spartans is the fifth straight SSC title game matchup where Tampa is 3-2 against Florida Southern in those meetings.

Game Information
No. 3 (2) – Florida Southern – 17-1, 6-1 SSC – SSC Regular Season Co-Champions
No. 1 (1) – Tampa – 16-1, 6-1 SSC – SSC Regular Season Co-Champions
Date: Sunday, April 27
Game Time: Noon
Location: Tampa, FL / Naimoli Family Athletic & Intramural Complex
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (fscmocs.com/stats)
Live Video: SSC Digital Network (fscmocs.com/live)
 
The tournament championship will be live-streamed at no cost on the SSC Digital Network. You can access the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network by visiting sunshinestateconference.tv or via Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku by searching "SSC Digital Network." Fans can find more information about the SSC Digital Network here.
 
Florida Southern knocked off Embry-Riddle 13-6 behind Abby McFerren's four-goal and six-point game. Danielle Mojsej followed with three goals, with Giana Murphy and Jenna Vetter each with two. Hannah Guerin and Hannah Hale rounded out the Moccasins' goal scorers. In the win, Maria Reeves won her 173^rd season draw control, which set the SSC single-season individual draw control mark. Brayden Cannelli was the top threat in seeking the ball, forcing six turnovers, where eight players scooped up two or more groundballs.
 
Tampa defeated Saint Leo 14-11 in a tough battle to advance to the team's fifth straight league title game. The Spartans scored the first four goals of the semifinal matchup; however, the Lions made a late-game surge to tie the contest at 10 with 14:29 remaining. Tampa scored the next four goals to put the game away as Mary Kate Person scored six goals in the win, ahead of Isabel McGarvey, Sophi Wrisk, and Maddie Szyluk each tallying a pair.  
 
It's the second of three potential meetings this year, with the Spartans claiming the first meeting 12-8 in Tampa on March 28^th. Person, Peyton Howell, and Sarah Engle each scored three goals in the win for Tampa. Florida Southern's Abby McFerren scored a game-high four goals in the setback.
 
In tournament play, this marks the fifth consecutive meeting in the title game between the two programs, where Tampa is 3-2 against Florida Southern. The Mocs are four-time champions and four-time runners-up, while the Spartans are three-time champions and have finished as runners-up once. The all-time series is tied 3-3 in the league's tournament. Tampa won the 2024 SSC Tournament title 10-9, overcoming a 9-7 deficit with three unanswered goals in the final quarter. Wrisk and Howell led the charge with five of the 10 goals for Tampa while McFerren and Kolby Cohen teamed up for five of the Mocs' nine goals.