Sports Lowdown

Melbourne became upset city on Wednesday, as the Florida Tech Panthers defeated the number eight team in the country, the Lynn Fighting Knights, 2-1.   This was a huge bounce-back win, for the Panthers who were upset by Barry on Saturday, who at the time had one win on the season. The Panthers who were ranked 12th coming into that game, dropped out of the top 25 because of that loss, so Wednesday's win over Lynn was huge.   The game started about 95 minutes late due to rain at Rick Stottler Field, but once things got underway, the Panthers were up to the challenge. The defense pitched a shutout in the first half, only allowing the Fighting Knights one shot and that was not on goal.   Florida Tech (9-2, 6-1 SSC) got on the board 11:55 in when Jan Hlavica took a long-range shot and that Lynn goaltender Alexander Roth looked poised  to bat it over the top of the net, but he couldn't corral it and it snuck in behind him from about 35 yards out. It wa...

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...

The wait was worth it for the Florida Tech Panthers, who opened their home season on Wednesday night with a 4-1 win over the Lynn Fighting Knights at Rick Stottler Field.   Maria Munoz was the star of the night, scoring a hat trick. She took five shots on goal, scoring three times and now has four goals on the season. “She played a great game and struck the ball very well,” said Panthers coach Dustin Smith. “There were some clean shots and clean opportunities and I'm proud of her.”   Lynn got the upper-hand early, with a goal off the foot of Donish Henry-Cole , who beat Karlyn Prisco with 39:43 left in the first half.   “Lynn came out and did pretty well in trying to assert themselves and be aggressive, I think that's why they scored early,” said Smith. "They were pushing us, they were being physical, all in a legal way and they caught us off guard and deserved the goal to go up one-nil.”   Just over 12 minutes later, Munoz got the Panther...

Carson Clough amassed sedven points Friday night in the Panthers win - Photo credit: James Ragan The Florida Tech Panthers outscored Lynn 5-1 in the second half Friday, leading to a 13-6 victory over the fighting Knights in the Sunshine State Conference Men’s Lacrosse semifinal. With the win, the Panthers landed a spot in the SSC title game on Sunday. Carson Clough led the way for the Panthers, scoring four goals and assisting on three more . Logan Sweeney chipped in with three goals of his own. Johnny Gavin led the Fighting Knights with two goals. Lynn (6-7) scored first, off the stick of Tully Wise. He beat Florida Tech netminder Daniel Flock, with 9:07 left in the first quarter. Less than two minutes later, Clough tied things up and that started a three-goal run for the Panthers, as Logan Sweeney and Austen Zugelter , who beat Lynn goaltender Collin McClelland back-to-back and led 3-1, with 3:58 left in the first quarter. After Nick Howard made it 3-2, Sweene...

Krista Patterson - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Krista Patterson hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning Friday and the Florida Tech Panthers never looked back, beating Lynn 8-3 in the opening game of the final series of the Panthers softball season. Florida Tech (26-23, 11-11 SSC) earned 12 hits in this one, with Hailey Leonard , Alexus Smith , Makayla Palmer , Patterson and Kaitlin Buchholz all collecting two hits each. Florida Tech pitcher Rachel Pence did give up 11 hits, but she minimized the damage, allowing just three runs. She struck out seven and did not walk a batter, in her 116 pitch, complete-game performance. The Panthers got on the board first in the top of the third inning, against Fighting Knights starter Francais Olexa. Leonard led off the inning with a grounder to third that was misplayed and turned into a two-base error. One out later, Smith singled and the Panthers were up, 1-0. Lynn (24-19, 10-9 SSC) were able to tie things ...

Daniel Flock - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Despite being overtaken in many of the key categories, the Florida Tech Men’s lacrosse team won their fourth consecutive game Saturday, beating host Lynn 11-10 in the Sunshine State Conference opener for both teams. Florida Tech (5-4, 1-0 SSC) was outshot 49-37, they lost the faceoff battle 37-29 and lost eight of 15 faceoffs. Despite all that, the Panthers won where it mattered… on the scoreboard. Addison Abramson scored the decisive goal with his Panthers a man down. It was only the second goal of the season for him, but it may be awhile before he scores a bigger one. Reid Chaconas led the Panthers with two goals and two assists and Nick Wynne added two goals. An impressive performance by Daniel Flock in goal, made those points count. Flock allowed 10 goals, but made 16 saves, nine of those in the third quarter. At the other end, Collin McClelland made 10 saves for the Fighting Knights, while giving up ...

Nick Capra - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography After helping the Panthers come from behind in game one with his walk-off single, Ryan Sinzenich put together a 3-for-5, for RBI performance in game two, leading the Panthers to a 9-3 victory over Lynn on Saturday. Nick Capra was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Both teams had 12 hits in the contest, but the Panthers were the more productive bunch, scoring eight earned runs. Florida Tech starter Andy Marzheuser was the beneficiary, as he improved to 5-1. He went five innings, allowing just one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out five. The Florida Tech offense got started early, scoring twice in the second inning against Fighting Knights starter Michael Imperato. Capra walked and went to third one out later, on a passed ball. He scored on a ground out by Sinzenich. After Kevin Capella singled back to the mound, Zac Orchard doubled him home. Capra got the fourth inning off to a good start wi...

Ryan Sinzenich - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography For the second consecutive day, the Florida Tech Panthers used late inning heroics to beat the visitors from Lynn University. The Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth Saturday, sending them to a 4-3 come-from-behind win in game one of a doubleheader. Ryan Sinzenich singled to right field in the bottom of the ninth, plating pinch-runner Raul Quintero with the winning run. This just hours after the Panthers came from behind to win 8-5 on Friday night, in game one of the series. It was a pitchers’ duel early, as Panthers hurler Tyler Deel and Lynn starter Frank Grandinette made it hard on the offenses for the early part of the game. Deel retired 13 of the first 14 he faced, allowing a home run to Karl Ellison in the second inning. Grant McKown got the first hit for the Panthers to start the bottom of the fourth, but he was erased when Reid Neal hit into a double play. Ellison started Lynn’s hal...

John Sternagel went 2-for-5 with 4 RBI's Friday night -  Photo credit: James Ragan Photography John Sternagel propelled the Florida Tech Panthers to an 8-5 come-from behind win over Lynn Friday night, in a Sunshine State Conference baseball showdown. Sternagel hit two-run home runs in the seventh and eighth inning, helping FIT secure their first conference win of the season. Nick Capra also contributed in a big way, with three hits and three RBIs. I think we got a gritty club,” said Sternagel. “It would’ve been easy down 5-1, to say maybe we’ll just come back at it tomorrow, but instead, we just kept fighting and kept grinding and ended up with a W.” Things did not start well for the Panthers, who left the bases loaded in the second inning and were down 2-0 in the third when Panthers starter Ty Cohen gave up a two-run home run off the bat of Miguel Ceballos. The Panthers did get a run back in the bottom of the inning, when Daniel Szpik doubled and came home on...

Sam Daniel - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography  The Florida Tech Panthers had six players in double figures Wednesday, storming back from a 42-36 halftime deficit to take down the Lynn Fighting Knights, 97-89 at the Clemente Center. “This was like a playoff game,” said Panthers head coach Billy Mims. “If we wanna play beyond next week, we needed this win.” Sam Daniel led the charge for the Panthers, scoring 27 points. Rafael Casanova scored 20, Derek Murphy 17, Jordan Majors 13 and Robert Booth rounded out the scoring with 11. Michael Milligan started and played eight minutes, but he did not score. Things looked bleak for the Panthers as the game got underway. The Fighting Knights went on a 10-0 run to start and the Panthers were missing both their inside and outside shots, getting nothing to fall. “I think we spotted them the first six minutes and 10 points,” said Mims, who was issued a warning during that early stretch, for jawing at the offici...

Julie McCarthy - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Julie McCarthy hit the game-winning layup with 11 seconds left in overtime Wednesday night, helping the Florida Tech women get a much-needed Sunshine State Conference win over the Lynn Fighting Knights, 71-70. “I thought she was dominant tonight,” said head coach John Reynolds of McCarthy. “They didn’t have an answer for her.” McCarthy’s final points put the exclamation point on her big night. She recorded a double-double, with 28 points and 15 rebounds. She was also credited with two blocks and two steals. Things did not start well for the Panthers, who were down 22-15 after the first quarter and watched Lynn start the second stanza with a 7-0 run. The Panthers were able to stay afloat though, as Lynn scored just three points in the last five minutes of the second stanza. Despite the Fighting Knights struggles, the Panthers couldn’t make up much ground, scoring their first points with 2:48 to go in th...

Jordan Majors - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Men’s Basketball team overcame a 17 point second half deficit at Lynn Friday night, but the Fighting Knights proved to be too much in overtime, taking down the Panthers 102-94 in a Sunshine State Conference battle. It was an odd night for Florida Tech, who sat their three best players for the first 7:21 of the contest for what coach Billy Mims said in his post-game interview, was a violation of team rules. “We had some guys that weren’t where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there,” he said. “We had team rules that were violated, nothing serious. It was more punctuality and professionalism that anything else.” The starters that were in held their own, as they were only down 11-6 when the normal starting lineup made their first appearance. Unfortunately, no matter who was in there, the Panthers were unable to get any offensive consistency for most the game. Free throws by ...

Gracie Doane - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women’s basketball team were doomed by a poor third quarter Friday night that saw the Lynn Fighting Knights outscore the Panthers 22-11, en route to a 71-61 Sunshine State Conference victory. The loss was the fourth in a row for Florida Tech. The Panthers troubles started early when leading scorer Shequana Harris was called for a foul two seconds into the contest. She picked up a second foul early and her third, just as the third quarter got underway. When all was said, and done, Harris played three minutes and scored two points. Florida Tech (6-6, 2-4 SSC) held their own early without her, leading 13-12 with 1:23 left in the first quarter, thanks to a layup by Gudlau Juliusdottir before Lynn overtook them, scoring five straight points and leading 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. Lynn (7-4, 2-3 SSC) extended their lead to 23-15 early in the second quarter and were up 27-19 before Gracie D...

Following the postponement of their match against Palm Beach Atlantic last Wednesday, the Florida Tech Women’s Soccer team was home to take on Lynn on Saturday, and came away with a hard-earned 1-0 win. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Panthers. Keira McCarthy scored on a penalty kick in the first half and it held up, in a defensive battle that saw each team take just nine shots. Florida Tech Goalie Karlyn Prisco turned away just two shots, while Fighting Knights goaltender Alexa Downie had eight shots come her way, saving seven. Prisco made her only save of the first half in the 27 th minute against Claudia Kraut and notched her fifth win of the season, four of those are shutouts. The key play in the game came in the 31 st minute when Elin Svensson found McCarthy with a pass inside the box. McCarthy was taken down, resulting in a penalty kick. She beat Downie on the ensuing penalty kick with 30:10 gone in the half and with that, got her s...