Sports Lowdown

Keira McCarthy - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Keira McCarthy scored the only goal of the game Wednesday, giving her team a very important 1-0 win over Rollins in a Sunshine State Conference women's soccer match at Rick Stottler Field.   The Panthers dominated statistically, but Rollins goalie Kelly Rowswell kept her team in the game, making eight saves. The one save she couldn't make was off the foot of McCarthy, who didn't get all of the ball, but enough to just have it trickle over the goal line, with 20:12 to go in regulation. Brie Heitz was given the assist on the goal.   With the victory, the Panthers improve to 7-6-2 overall and move to .500 in the conference with a 4-4-1 record. They are now back in contention for a spot in the Sunshine State Conference tournament, which starts next Tuesday.   Florida Tech took 12 shots in a scoreless first half, with five of them saved by Rowswell. On the other side, Florida Tech goalie Karlyn Prisc...

The Florida Tech Panthers women's soccer team got a much-needed road win on Wednesday, beating Lynn 1-0 at Bobby Campbell Stadium in Boca Raton.   The Panthers (6-5-2, 3-3-1 (SSC) had 29 shots and kept Lynn goaltender Alexa Downie on her toes all night, as she made seven big saves in the first half and four more in the second half. The one save she couldn't make was at the 56:43 mark, when Elin Svensson connected with Keira McCarthy , in a great pass. McCarthy ripped a shot from 10 yards out and put the Panthers up, 1-0.   This was an up-and-down game with both teams getting some early chances. The Fighting Knights had two free-kicks and a corner in the first four minutes but were unable to get a shot on goal. Panthers goalie Karlyn Prisco only made one save in that first half.   The Panthers definitely had the better of the chances in the first 45, as Downie had to make a couple big saves, tipping the ball over the crossbar and a nice diving save at t...

What a difference a year makes. Last season, the Florida Tech Panthers handed the Grand Valley State Lakers their only regular-season loss on the road to a runner-up finish in Division II women's soccer. On Wednesday night, the Lakers avenged that loss in a big way, taking down the Panthers 8-2 in Allendale Michigan.   Reigning National Player of the Year Gabriella Mencotti came into the game with 16 goals and all she did was score four Wednesday night, leading the Lakers offensive attack that spent the bulk of their time in the offensive end.   GVSU (11-2) scored four goals on their first four shots of the night. Mencotti got things going early, scoring 2:45 into the contest. Madz Ham made it 2-0, beating Karlyn Prisco with a shot from about 25 yards out.   Mencotti found the back of the net again 3:02 later, getting open in space and giving her squad a 3-0 lead. It took just 4:12 for the Lakers to get on the board again with 28:28 left, as Gianna Pa...

Florida Tech scored early and they scored late, but in between they gave up three goals to the 20th ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Wednesday night, resulting in a 3-2 loss at Rick Stottler Field. Elin Svensson got the Panthers off to a good start, scoring 2:24 into the match, off a pass from Monica Zabian . Nova goalie Jordan Lentz came out to try to cut down the angle, but Svensson got it by her for her first of two goals on the night. The Panthers (4-2-1, 1-1 SSC) took a couple more shots with Kiana Zanganeh and Svensson forcing Lentz to make a couple saves about 20 minutes after the goal. FIT held the lead until a free kick by Monica Orteu from 40 yards out was sent just over the outstretched arm of Panthers goaltender Karlyn Prisco and into the upper-right corner of the net. It was a great effort by Prisco to play the ball, as she leaped and came down into teammate Macey Hedelund , who was stationed at the far post. The Sharks led the Panthers in shots, 10-6 as the...

The Saint. Leo Lions scored two late goals Wednesday night, erasing Florida Tech’s lead and picking up a big 3-2 win in Women’s Soccer on Wednesday night. Florida Tech dented the scoreboard immediately, when Keira McCarthy picked off a ball in the Saint Leo side if the field and burned by the defense, before drilling a ball by Lions goalie Julia Ortiz. McCarthy got another shot off at the 1:37 mark, but Ortiz was able to keep that one out. The Panthers (5-2, 1-2 SSC) made good on their next opportunity at the 11:03 mark when Ciera Misner got a free kick that Eva Banton pushed to Elin Svensson, who headed it past Ortiz and gave Florida Tech a quick 2-0 lead. Saint Leo (5-1, 3-0 SSC) closed the gap to 2-1 on a goal by Arielle Kabangu, who beat Karlyn Prisco in net for the Panthers. The Lions had two consecutive corner kicks in the 29 th minute, but neither team was able to score before the end of the half. Each team took six shots on goal in the first half, with Saint...