Sports Lowdown

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 Florida Tech Panthers traveled to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, for a showdown with the Nova Southeastern Sharks. It was a tightly contested match throughout, but the Panthers prevailed 3-1, notching their 11th consecutive victory over the Sharks in Sunshine State Conference play.   Florida Tech (5-1, 2-0 SSC) kept Sharks' goalie Nico Rosiglioni busy in the first half, but he deserves a lot of credit, as he kept his team in the game. The Panthers got an early chance when Luca Campanini got Rosiglioni out of the net and had a golden opportunity, only to have Lucas Dessoliers layout and give up his body, to stop the ball from going in.   Shortly thereafter, the Panthers got behind the defense and had a 3-on-1. Brandon Smalley found Per Henrik Nag with a nice pass, but he banged it off the post, keeping the game scoreless, with 28:41 gone by. Rosiglioni came up big again later in the contest, making a point-blank Save on Smalley with 12 and a half minutes left....

Reid Neal - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Nova Southeastern Sharks showed why they are the defending NCAA Division II baseball champions on Sunday, completing a doubleheader sweep of the Florida Tech Panthers, winning game two, 11-6. Following a 7-6 win in game one , the Sharks found themselves down early in game two. only to fight back and take the lead late. Florida Tech followed their 14-hit barrage in game one, with 12 more in game two, but it wasn’t enough. Florida Tech (27-19, 11-9 SSC) got to NSU starter Jonny Ortiz in the top of the second inning. Nick Capra doubled and later scored on a single by Vincenzo Catanza . The lead was short-lived, as the Sharks jumped on Andy Marzheuser in the bottom of the frame. Michael Hernandez and Dylan Woods each hit two-run home runs, quickly giving the home team a 4-1 lead. To the Panthers credit, much like they did in game one, they would fight back in the top of the third.   Reid Neal , John Sternag...

Dan Szpik - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers fell just short in the series opener at Nova Southeastern on Sunday, as the Sharks hung on for a 7-6 win in game one of a doubleheader. The Panthers (27-18, 11-8 SSC) were victimized by tough luck throughout the game, loading the bases a couple times and not getting the big hit and having a triple play turned by their defense, only to have the call reversed in what turned out to be the deciding play of the game. Panthers starter Ty Cohen (6-5) ran into trouble in the first inning, giving up one run on a Jeremy Vasquez RBI single. Cohen did limit the damage, despite the traffic the Sharks generated. He came back in the bottom of the second and got the Sharks in order, striking out Ryan Alvarez on three pitches and needing a total of six pitches to get out of the inning. Sharks starter Matt Hardy ran into trouble of his own in the third, giving up back-to-back singles to Ryan Sinzenich a...

Karina Suicava - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech softball team got off to a good start on Saturday, beating Nova Southeastern 10-2 in game one of a doubleheader. The game was called in the fifth inning, due to the eight-run rule. They completed the sweep in game two, with a 4-1 win. Krista Patterson drilled a three-run home run in the fifth inning. The Sharks, who won Friday’s series opener 2-0, got off to a good start in this one. Dana Edmundson hit her second leadoff home run in as many days, against Panthers starter Rachel Pence . Florida Tech got that run back on a fielder’s choice by Makayla Palmer , allowing Alexus Smith to score. Smith singled to start the inning. Edmundson got to Pence again, leading off the third, with another solo home run. It was her second of the day and third of the series. Thankfully for the Panthers all her damage was done with nobody on base in front of her. That made it 2-1. That lead didn’t last long, as F...