Sports Lowdown

Josh Thomas - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers led twice on Tuesday night only to drop a 4-2 decision to the Rollins College Tars in a late-season Sunshine State Conference match. This was the second consecutive loss for the Panthers, who fell to 9-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference. For the Tars, who were celebrating senior night, they got a much-needed victory, improving to 9-4-1, including 6-4 in the conference.   The night got off to a great start for the Panthers, who caught Rollins back on the heels early and took advantage of a couple Tars turnovers. The last of those turned into a Josh Thomas steal and he found Jan Hlavaca , on a cross, who tapped it past Tars' goalie Drew Trautmann , giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead 2:03 into the contest.   The Florida Tech defense held up well for much of the first half, but with about 10 minutes left, the home team was awarded a free-kick and although Luuk Teurlinx made the initial ch...

The 24th ranked Florida Tech men's soccer team improved to 2-0 on Monday, beating the Shorter Hawks 5-1 in a non-conference match at Rick Stottler Field in Melbourne. The match was delayed twice by lightning but was able to be completed.   Freshman goalkeeper Luuk Teurlinx made his Florida Tech debut a memorable one, posting three saves and keeping Shorter off the board for the first 45 minutes of the match.   The Panthers had just three shots in the first half but led 1-0 on a goal from Luca  Campanini in the 11th minute. That goal stood up and the Panthers went into halftime up by that score. Per Henrik Nag and Josh Thomas were credited with the assists.   The Hawks (0-3) looked like the break was exactly what they needed, as they got an early goal from Hassane Traore, tying the game 1-1, 2:26 into the second half. Instead of giving Shorter the spark it needed, it seemed to fire up the Panthers, who went on the offensive immediately.   ...

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...

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...

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...