Sports Lowdown

The Florida Tech Panthers pulled away from Valdosta State on Saturday, scoring 21 fourth quarter points in a 38-20 victory over the 14 th ranked Blazers at Florida Tech Panther Stadium in Melbourne. "It was a big win and a win that we needed,” said Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart. “Our defense shut ‘em down and held them to six points, it’s an exciting win for our program.” This was everything you would expect from a Gulf South Conference game, this late in the season. Valdosta State came in with a bit if an attitude, refusing to shake hands at midfield before the contest. Things got a bit heated, but nothing came of it. Englehart was asked how his team felt about the situation, after the game. “It angered them,” he said. “It is what it is and I’m gonna leave it at that. Everyone has their own thing and maybe that’s what they though they needed to get themselves pumped up, I don’t know.” If Valdosta State was hoping to pump themselves up, they likely did j...

The Florida Tech Soccer team picked up their 10 th win of the season in a dominating 4-1 win at Warner. Freshman Hugo Lopez scored twice for the Panthers in the win and sent the Royals to an 0-15 record in 2016. Being a non-conference late season game, this was a chance for the Panthers to put some of their young talent in a game situation and it worked well. Sophomore Petur Petursson started in goal for Florida Tech and made four saves, all in the second half. The Royals took just six shots as a team in this match. The Panthers (10-3-1) got Petursson an early lead with Lopez tickling the twine 10:03 into the match, beating Warner keeper Mauricio Delgado, for a 1-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Colton Johnson- Drymon , a Junior from Satellite Beach. It took just over 13 minutes for the Panthers to double their lead, with a goal off the foot of Freshman Brandon Smalley. Florida Tech kept the pressure up with four consecutive shots over the next 10 minutes, with Johns...

Florida Tech Freshman Maria Munoz had a goal in each half against Lynn on Tuesday, leading the women’s soccer team to their 10 th victory of the season. Munoz came into the match with just one goal this season and left the game with three. This was an impressive offensive performance for the Panthers, who had 23 shots as a team, 14 of those coming in the first half. Nine of those shots were on goal, beating the Fighting Knights shot total (8) for the game. Panthers goalie Karlyn Prisco only had to make two saves. Munoz scored the first goal 29:22 into the match, beating Fighting Knights goaltender Alexa Downie. Maddy Keenan was credited with the assist. That lead held through the end of the first half, but as dominating as the Panthers were for much of the game, Lynn (3-9-2) did make a game of it. Caroline Duerr came up with her with 3:42 left in the match, beating Prisco from the top of the box and tying the game at one. As you would expect, the Panthers did not g...

Junior Forward Evan Enders gave the Florida Tech Men’s soccer team all the offense they would need, scoring a goal in each half and lifting the Panthers to a 2-0 win over the Barry Buccaneers on Tuesday. Enders got the scoring started at 18:19 of the first half and added his second goal of the night and sixth of the season with 8:23 left in the contest, to give the visitors a 2-0 lead, that would stand up. The first goal was assisted by Junior Josh Thomas , found Enders on a cross and Enders headed it past Barry goaltender Michael Scheraldi. It was one of seven shots that the Panthers took in the first half, to go along with six corner kicks. Enders was not on the field to start the second half, but was re-inserted with 12:32 gone in the second half, taking over for Thomas. Things got a bit heated in the second half, as the Panthers were pushing for an insurance goal. Tobias Hildmann and Fabian Egbele of the Panthers were issued yellow cards 32 seconds apart by...

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders played one of the ugliest games in recent memory on Sunday, featuring three ejections, a combined for 239 penalty yards and poor offensive halves for each team. When the dust settled, the Raiders came away with a 33-16 win and it wasn’t even that close. Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski was 4-for-4 on Field goals in the game and helped the Raiders to a 3-0 lead at with a 26-yard field goal with 9:08 left in the first quarter. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles looked good on the Jaguars ensuing drive, using his feet for gains of 17 and 11 yards. Later in the drive on a 3 rd -and-7 from the Oakland 18, Bortles threw one into the end zone, intended for Marqise Lee, but the ball was picked off and Oakland took over. With 14:55 left in the second quarter, Janikowski was good again from 32 yards out, putting the visitors up 6-0. Jacksonville answered on the next drive, helped by a pass interference call and a 42-yard run by Chri...

The Florida Tech Women’s Soccer team dropped their final conference match of the season on Saturday night, as they were beaten by the Tampa Spartans 3-2, at Pepin Stadium. The Spartans only took three shots in the first half, but one of them found the back of the net, when Nastasia Asgedom took a crossing pass from Gabby Scirica in the box and rifled it by Panthers goaltender Karlyn Prisco , giving the home squad a 1-0 lead. It took just 2:45 for the Panthers to get the equalizer when Senior Aubri Williamson beat Spartans keeper Caroline Frykgard. Those were the only goals scored by either team in the first 45 minutes and the teams went to the locker room tied 1-1. Tampa (6-7-2) dented the scoreboard again 10:54 into the second half when Sarah Raymond found Ali Robinson with a crossing pass and Robinson headed it past Prisco, giving Tampa their second lead of the contest, 2-1. The Panthers (9-5, 4-5 SSC) even things up again in the 76 th minute when Lauren Bolhuis...

The Tampa Spartans spoiled Senior Night in Melbourne, beating Florida Tech 3-1 in a Sunshine State Conference Men’s Soccer match on Saturday. The Panthers had their chances throughout the contest, firing 20 shots (11 on goal) in the loss, with 16 of those coming in the second half. Tampa (9-3-2, 4-3-1 SSC) jumped in front when Mike Ciluffo went one-on-one in the box, beat the defender and then beat Panthers’ goaltender Christian Moerch, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead 13:25 into the match. The goal was one of eight shots Tampa took in the first half. Florida Tech (8-3-1, 5-3 SSC) did not have a shot on goal in the first half and took just four shots total. This was unfamiliar territory for the Panthers, who usually get off a good number of shots in each half. Credit to Tampa’s defense for shutting down the Panthers offensive attack in the first 45 minutes.   The Spartans scored the eventual game winner just 2:12 into the second half, off the foot of Jake Winship...

The Florida Tech Panthers and West Alabama Tigers put on an offensive show in their Gulf South Conference meeting on Saturday, with the Tigers coming out on top, 45-35. With the loss, the Panthers will likely have to win all three of their remaining games, to make the playoffs. In our conversation with Panthers head coach Steve Englehart on Thursday, he was adamant that if the Panthers won the turnover battle , they would win the game. Unfortunately, the visitors lost four of their five fumbles, including one on the final play of the third quarter that resulted in a scoop and score for West Alabama. This was an 0ld-fashioned shootout from the start, with the teams combining for 1,147 yards of total offense. The Panthers had 643 yards, setting a school record and Quarterback Mark Cato passed for 502 yards, also a school record. On just about any other day, those numbers would translate into a win, but on this day, the turnovers kept that from happening. “You’re not goi...

The Florida Tech Panthers are gearing up for their Gulf South Conference showdown against West Alabama on Saturday. Sports Lowdown spoke to coach Steve Englehart following Thursday’s practice. After last week’s win over Fort Valley State , Panthers coach Steve Englehart made mention of the fact that it had been a rough couple of weeks, with the loss to West Florida, the after-effects of Hurricane Matthew and some internal things going on with the team. Despite all that, the team rolled to a 48-14 victory, setting a record for points scored in a home game. Thursday, Englehart said that those distractions are behind them.  “We’re focused on the situation and the task at-hand,” he said. “That’s to go on the road to Livingston Alabama, have a great trip and hopefully come out of there with a win. All the focus is on that and I think we have short memories, what’s happened has happened and we’re all focused on this week.” Englehart said Saturday that his team had s...

Senior Adin Kavara tallied three times on Tuesday, helping the Florida Tech Men’s Soccer team to a dominating 5-1 victory over Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. The Panthers scored three goals in the first half with Kavara scoring the first goal 9:37 into the contest. He took a pass from Robbie Madden in the six-yard box and put it by Eckerd goaltender Alex Gott, just inside the back post. Madden was credited with the assist on Kavara’s fifth goal of the season. Kavara took less than three minutes to strike again, after getting a pass from Fabian Egbele , Kavara notched his second goal of the game at the 12:21 mark, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead. Junior midfielder Josh Thomas got into the act with 31:37 gone in the first half, when he fired a shot from 10 yards outside the 18-yard box, that beat Gott to the high side and put the Panthers in control, 3-0. The Tritons (6-4-2) got on the board with 2:14 left in the half, after Juan David Tejada was taken down in t...

Junior Mary Watson came through with her second game-winner in three days on Monday, as her goal with 7:59 left propelled the Florida Tech Women’s Soccer team beat Palm Beach Atlantic 2-1, in a Sunshine State Conference contest. Watson scored the game-winner in Saturday’s Senior Day game and came through again Monday in the Panthers final home game of the regular season. Florida Tech (9-4-0, 4-4-0) found themselves down early, when Kianna Magner got the ball out of the defensive end and found Morgan Campbell, who got away from the Panthers defense and beat Karlyn Prisco 9:54 into the game, putting the Sailfish up 1-0.   The Panthers had their chances following the visitors goal, but PBA goalie Isabelle Granlund was up to the task. Keira McCarthy and Taylor Eller had shots about two minutes apart (13 th and 15 th minute) that were saved by Granlund and Aubri Williamson got in on the act at the 20:35 mark, but she was turned away as well. McCarthy got off...

The Jaguars offense was listless for the better part of three quarters on Sunday, but the defense kept them in the game long enough for Arrelious Benn to come up with a 51-yard touchdown catch , helping Jacksonville to a 17-16 win at Soldier Field in Chicago. Jacksonville (2-3) were down 13-0 in the second half and had a stretch where they ran 13 plays for 14 yards. Jaguars quarterback   Blake Bortles had two key turnovers including an interception in the end zone on the Jaguars first offensive drive and a fumble in the fourth quarter on s strip-sack from behind. Chicago (1-5) led 10-0 at the half and held the Jaguars to 97 total yards. It was as ugly as the numbers indicate for the Jaguars, who finally got on the board with 10 seconds gone in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by Chris Ivory . The drive was helped immensely by a roughing-the-passer call against the Bears on third-and-7 at the Bears 47. It was a play that they should have run in the first quart...

Returning to the field for the first time since October 1, the Florida Tech Men’s Soccer squad beat Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern this week, in back-to-back Sunshine State Conference games. After having their October 5 game against Warner canceled and the October 8 game against Embry-Riddle postponed, the Panthers improved to 7-2-1 overall and 5-2 in the SSC with the two victories. On Wednesday, Adin Kavara converted two penalty kicks to beat Nova Southeastern 2-1. It was redemption for Kavara, who missed the first penalty kick of his career back on September 11 against West Alabama. He got back on track in a big way Wednesday, putting two of them home. Kavara’s first chance came after Evan Enders was dragged down in the box in the 17 th minute. It was the only goal in a first half that saw the Panthers out shoot the Sharks 4-3. It took the Sharks (2-8, 0-5 SSC) just six minutes to answer in the second half, as Bestun Mohammed beat FIT goaltender Christ...

Coming off their big win over #1 Grand Valley State last week, the Florida Tech Women’s Soccer team returned to the field this week, losing 2-0 to Sunshine State Conference foe Nova Southeastern on Wednesday, before rebounding on Saturday, with a 1-0 win over Florida Southern on Senior Night. Wednesday’s game in Fort Lauderdale was a letdown, coming off that victory over the number one team in the country a week earlier. It took Nova Southeastern less than two minutes to get on the board with an Alexys Nowak tally. The Sharks scored again five minutes later, with Bailey Corbin beating FIT goalie Karlyn Prisco with a header, giving the home team a convincing 2-0 lead. Nichole Poppe assisted on both Sharks goals. Nova Southeastern got off 10 shots in the first half, while the Panthers managed just four. Florida Tech was hampered by the fact that Keira McCarthy was unable to play in this game. Aubri Williamson did her best, firing four shots on goal. Prisco played...

Following their loss to West Florida two weeks ago and the cancellation of the game last week against North Alabama, the Florida Tech football team came out Saturday against Fort Valley State running on all cylinders and coming away with a 48-14 win on Homecoming Saturday. “The last 14 days have been kind of crazy with all the things that have happened but we were obviously excited and it brings up the energy level when we can come out here and have a performance like this,” said Panthers head coach Steve Englehart. “Out here is the players and coaches’ sanctuary, its where you forget about everything else. It’s good to get our swag back and get back on the winning track.” The 48 points by the Panthers is a school record for points scored in a home game. Quarterback Mark Cato only played the first half of the game, but he did a lot of damage in that time, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for two more. He accounted for 166 of the Panthers 439 total yards. ...

The Jacksonville Jaguars had to leave the country to get their first win of 2016 on Sunday. The team made their annual pilgrimage to London and took down AFC South divisional opponent Indianapolis, 30-27. Quarterback Blake Bortles finally showed what he is capable of and did not commit a turnover. He threw for 207 yards, going 19-of-33, moving the ball down the field well for the most part. It was not a perfect performance, but it was his best of the season as a whole. He’s thrown for more yards, completed more passes this season, but he made costly mistakes in those games. Sunday, he stayed away from the big negative play. Head coach Gus Bradley discusses every week, that the team needs to play smart and not give up unnecessary penalties. It is easier said than done with this team. They committed 11 penalties for 145 yards Sunday and that kept the Colts in the game in the first half, at 17-6. The Jaguars first touchdown was set up by a Yannick Ngakoue interception of...

The Florida Tech Men’s Soccer team suffered a 3-0 loss at Lynn on Saturday, in a Sunshine State Conference match. The loss was the first in the conference for the Panthers, who fell to 5-2-1 overall. Lynn improved to 8-1-1 and 3-1-1 in the conference. Florida Tech fired nine shots on goal, but Alexander Roth was a wall in front of the Fighting Knights net, turning away all of them. Christian Moerch , who was playing his first game since being named player of the week, faced six shots. Jack Watson scored twice in the match, including the eventual game winner, just 7:22 into the contest. That was the only goal of the first half, but the home team was able to add some insurance in the second half. Florida Tech had six shots in each half, they just weren’t able to solve a very tough goaltender. Roth made five saves in the second half, while his offense got goals from Dominic Docherty at 60:56 and Watson, at 66:27, as he knocked in a rebound, to put the icing on the cake. ...