HICKORY N.C. - Men's Lacrosse opened their season with a tight 13-10 loss against No. 2 Tampa on Saturday.
Owen Scott led the Bears with a career-high four goals. This is the most goals in a season opener since Toron Eccleston scored four against Maryville in 2023.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: #2 Tampa 13, #7 Lenoir-Rhyne 10
Records: Tampa (3-0), Lenoir-Rhyne (0-1)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Moretz STadium
STORY OF THE GAME
- Nate Serrano scored the first goal of Lenoir-Rhyne's season six minutes into the game.
- Down 6-4, Serrano and Owen Scott scored back-to-back goals to tie things up at 6-6 with 6:41 left in the first half.
- Tampa scored the final two goals of the opening half to head into the locker room with an 8-6 advantage.
- The Spartans came out with some fire in the third quarter, scoring four of the first five goals.
- Despite owning the possession and out-shooting Tampa 11-2 in the fourth, Lenoir-Rhyne managed just one goal.
STATS OF THE GAME
- Owen Scott led the team with four goals, followed by Nate Serrano (2) and Jarrett Huff (2).
- Gavin Stabile made seven saves in his collegiate debut.
- Both teams were 50% on face offs.
- Lenoir-Rhyne out-shot Tampa 37-29 and had just 13 turnovers compared to the Spartans' 16.
- No team scored on extra man opportunities.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Tampa holds an 8-5 lead in the all-time series.
- This was Tampa's first win over the Bears since February 19, 2023, breaking a three-game Lenoir-Rhyne win streak.
- Lenoir-Rhyne hadn't lost a season opener since a 12-11 defeat against Indianapolis in 2022.
NEXT UP: The Bears hit the road next Saturday when they travel to Winter Park, Florida, to take on Rollins. The Tars are 1-1 after defeating Florida Southern 12-5 in their opener and falling to Florida Tech 13-9 earlier today. Face off is set for 1:00 p.m. ET.
