Sports Lowdown

The Florida Tech Panthers men's soccer team improved to 8-1 Tuesday night, beating Saint Leo 2-0 in a Sunshine State Conference match at Rick Stottler Field.   The Panthers, who moved up to number 12 in the rankings earlier this week, did that ranking no harm on Tuesday, getting second-half goals from Hugo Lopez and Mikkel Roeisland . For Roeisland , who assisted on the Lopez goal, it was his first tally of the season.   This game was originally scheduled to be played on September 29, but it was stopped late in the first half due to rain and unplayable field conditions. At the time, the Panthers led 2-0, but that score and the stats were wiped out, as the game had not reached the 70-minute mark.   Florida Tech goalkeeper Luuk Teurlinx improved to 2-0 on the season, picking up two saves in the game, while giving starter Christopher Page a much-deserved night off.   After a scoreless first half, the Panthers (8-1, 5-0 SSC) got things going ...

A 13-day layoff did not hurt the Florida Tech Men's Soccer team, as they opened their Sunshine State Conference schedule, with a 4-1 win over Eckerd on Saturday. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 4-1 overall.   Despite a decided advantage for the Panthers in shots, 20-5 and shots on goal, 11-2, it was Eckerd who drew first blood, with Juan Tejada beating FIT goalie Christopher Page in the 40th minute, giving the home team a 1-0 lead.   The Tritons took that lead to the locker room, but the Panthers got things going in the second half, with four unanswered goals.   Hugo Lopez and Brandon Smalley combined to even the match in the 67th minute, when Lopez found Smalley open and got it to him, ahead of the defense and he drilled just inside the post, past Tritons goaltender Alex Gott.   It took less than 10 minutes for the Panthers to get the game-winner, as Smalley assisted Stian Hagboe Olsen on a free-kick goal that was tucked just in...

The Florida Tech men's soccer season was delayed by mother nature on Saturday, as they waited just over an hour to get their opening game underway. In the end, the wait was worth it, as the Panthers took down Francis Marion Patriots, 4-2 at Rick Stotler Field.   Florida Tech (1-0) erased two one goal deficits in the match and scored three times in the second half, to secure the victory. Per Henrik Nag and Brandon Smalley led the Panthers offensively, posting a goal and an assist each. Evan Enders and Hugo Lopez had the Panthers other tallies.   Although things ended well for the Panthers, they certainly didn't start that way. The Patriots got on the board early, as Levin Sandmann sent an awkward knuckler toward the net that Panthers goalie Chris Page had go through his legs, just 45 seconds into the proceedings.   It took Florida Tech until the 16:53 mark to answer, as Enders took a pass from Nag and buried it into the right corner of the net, tying t...

The Florida Tech Men’s Soccer team suffered a 2-1 defeat Sunday afternoon, at the Hands of Palm Beach Atlantic, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Panthers finished the 2016 season with five losses, two of those coming against the Sailfish. Florida Tech went down 1-0, when Charlie Dennis sent a rocket past Panthers goaltender Christian Moerch . The Sailfish defense was tough in the first half, holding the Panthers to just two shots in the first half, one on goal. Josh Thomas took the first shot 32:47 into the match and it was saved by Elliott. The second shot by Hugo Lopez went wide, at 39:47. Florida Tech (11-5-1) got things going in the right direction, early in the second half. The Panthers 2016 leader in goals, Luca Campanini got away from the PBA defense and launched a shot from the top of the box. Barker made the stop, but gave up a rebound and Lopez drilled it home, equaling the score with 27:18 left in the game. Moerch kept the game tied wit...