BOCA RATON, Fla, - The No. 8 Lynn University women's lacrosse team delivered a statement performance to open Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday night, rallying past No. 4 Tampa, 14-13, at Bobby Campbell Stadium. Behind a historic eight-goal effort from Rebecca Clark and a dominant defensive showing led by Ava Ceglia's 15 saves, the Fighting Knights improved to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in SSC action, securing the program's first-ever victory over the defending national champions in front of a home crowd.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Fighting Knights came out aggressive defensively, forcing multiple early turnovers behind caused takeaways from Kaya Langford and Emily Solomon while goalkeeper Ava Ceglia made key early saves to keep Tampa off the board
- Lynn struck first at the 12:17 mark as Rebecca Clark finished off a feed from Elizabeth Clagett, giving the Blue and White an early 1-0 advantage
- The offense continued to click midway through the opening quarter, with Hannah Exley (assist: Clark) and Clagett scoring in quick succession to extend the lead to 3-0
- Lynn capitalized on a man-up opportunity late in the first, as Clark netted her second goal of the period off another Clagett assist to push the lead to 4-0
- Tampa broke through in the final minute of the first quarter on a free-position goal, but Lynn maintained a strong 4-1 lead after one
- In the second quarter, Clark completed her hat trick early, once again finishing a Clagett assist to give Lynn a 5-1 edge
- The Spartans responded with a momentum swing, scoring four consecutive goals, including a man-up and man-down tally, to tie the game at 6-6
- Lynn answered during the Tampa run as Angelia Huggins found the back of the net off a Zoe Stewart assist to briefly halt the surge
- After Tampa took its first lead of the game at 8-6, Clark responded immediately with a goal off the draw to cut the deficit to one
- Tampa closed the half with a free-position goal, sending the Fighting Knights into the break trailing 9-7
- The third quarter belonged to Lynn, as the Fighting Knights flipped the momentum with a dominant stretch on both ends
- After Tampa extended its lead to 10-7, Clagett sparked the rally with a goal off a Huggins assist, followed by Huggins finishing a feed from Madison Smith to make it 10-9
- Clark tied the game at 10-10 on a free-position goal before Olivia Hamm gave Lynn its first lead since the opening quarter with a go-ahead strike
- Clark continued her standout performance, scoring again late in the period to cap a 5-0 Lynn run and give the Fighting Knights a 12-10 lead heading into the fourth
- Lynn carried that momentum into the final frame, converting another man-up opportunity as Clark finished off an Olivia Fox assist to extend the lead to 13-10
- Tampa battled back with a pair of goals to trim the deficit to one, but Clark answered once again, scooping up a rebound and scoring to make it 14-12
- The Spartans continued to pressure late and pulled within 14-13 on a man-up goal, but the Lynn defense held strong down the stretch
- Ceglia came up with multiple clutch saves in the final minutes while the Fighting Knights controlled possession to secure the upset victory over No. 4 Tampa
- Clark led the way with a dominant performance, while Clagett and Huggins fueled the offense and the Lynn defense forced key turnovers throughout to complete the comeback win
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Lynn improved to 5-0 at home this season, highlighted by signature wins over No. 2 Adelphi and now No. 4 Tampa
- The victory marks the first win over Tampa in program history for the seven-year Fighting Knight women's lacrosse program
- Clark delivered a historic performance with eight goals, the most in a Sunshine State Conference game this season
- Huggins recorded her 100th career point with her pivotal third-quarter goal that helped spark Lynn's comeback
- Ceglia anchored the defense with a career-high 15 saves, the most by any goalkeeper in an SSC game this season
- The Lynn defense held Tampa to 13 goals, well below its season average of 16.86 goals per game, marking the Spartans' lowest offensive output of the year
- The Fighting Knights forced 18 Tampa turnovers and added 14 caused turnovers, disrupting one of the top offenses in the nation
- Four players including Solomon, Langford, Clagett and Ruby Studer each had three caused turnovers in the contest
- Lynn placed five players in the scoring column, led by Clark (8 goals), while Clagett (2G, 3A) and Huggins (2G, 1A) powered a balanced attack
 
UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights are back in action at home this Saturday for a marquee SSC matchup with No. 2 Florida Southern, at 4 pm.