Rooney Nets Seven as Spartans Cruise to 22-3 Win

Tampa, Fla - Jake Rooney netted seven goals to help the No. 7 ranked men's lacrosse team to a 22-3 win over Notre Dame de Namur Saturday night at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex. With the win the Spartans improves to 4-0, while the Argonauts fall to 3-2 on the season.

The Spartans struck first as Nick Ferreiro found Kyle Hemrick for the goal to give Tampa an early 1-0 lead. Ferreiro won the ensuing faceoff and connected with Conor Whipple for a goal six seconds later. After a Chance Smith goal, Rooney picked up a the rebound off of a Whipple shot and put it in to the back of the cage for a goal to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead with 8:25 left in the opening period. Minutes later Jordan Wagner scored an unassisted goal for the Argonauts to cut the lead to 4-1 after the opening period.

Tampa won the opening faceoff of the second quarter and Rooney converted an off balance shot to extend the lead to 5-1. Minutes later, Ferreiro found Whipple in front of the cage and put a well-placed shot past the goalie. The Spartans scored three more times in the quarter taking a 9-1 lead into the break.

Tampa had a balanced scoring attack in the second half as 10 different Spartans recorded goals. Hemrick, Ferrerio, Whipple, and Rooney each scored a goal in the third quarter, while Rooney, Zayne Smith, Parker Snure, Dalton Sierra, Zayne Smith, Connor Kennedy, and Simon Ruppert each netted at least one goal in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame scored two man-up goals in the final two minutes of the game for the 22-3 final.

Whipple extended his hat trick streak to four games, while dishing out two assist. Ferriro tallied four points while going 9-10 on faceoffs and picking up a game-high nine ground balls. Kennedy, Hemrick, Ruppert, and Smith each recorded a pair of points.

Andrew Failla improves to 4-0 this season and made six saves in the win. Shane Giunta and A.J. Arnold split time in the cage in the second half and combined for three saves.

The 22 goals scored by the Spartans sets a new record for most goals in a game and tied the record for the largest margin on defeat. The previous mark was set on March 5, 2013 when they defeated Wingate 21-2.

The Spartans will return to action next Saturday, March 8, when they host Lake Erie College at 1 p.m. Live stats and a video webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.

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