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...

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...

Jan Hlavica   - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers (9-3, 6-2 SSC) erased a two-goal deficit in the second half Saturday, only to have the Spartans Felipe DeSousa score his second goal of the night with 1:16 remaining in the contest, giving host Tampa a 3-2 victory.   The game-winner was a bookend goal for DeSousa who got the scoring started just 7:55 into the match, giving his team an early 1-0 lead.   Tampa took six shots in that first half, with Florida Tech goalie Chris Page making two saves on three shots on goal. Tampa keeper Jake Richards was only forced to make one save on four Florida Tech shots.   The Spartans (6-3-2, 5-2-2 SSC) got their second goal of the first half off the foot of Viktor Strand with 32:34 having elapsed.   The Panthers stormed back in the second half, taking 12 shots and converting on two of them. Just over 14 minutes into the stanza, Josh Thomas took his third corner in a short ...

Karlyn Prisco - Photo credit: James Ragan Miranda Gonzalez scored the only goal of the night in the 39th minute on Saturday, giving her Tampa Spartans a 1-0 win over Florida Tech in a Sunshine State women's soccer matchup.   Brie Heitz , Kerel Morris , Karlyn Prisco , Elin Svensson , Mary Watson and  Aubri Williamson were all honored in a pregame ceremony. They will have one more regular season home game before saying goodbye to the Florida Tech fans for good.   Prisco gave up the first half goal, but she kept her team in it, making a couple key saves before that, including a diving save on an Emily Cady shot in the 24th minute and a follow-up save on Gonzalez, six seconds later. She finished the night with six saves overall. She now has 68 saves, good for third place in the Sunshine State Conference.   The Panthers best chance of the half came at the 27:54 mark when Monica Zabian took free-kick and launched it over the Tampa wall, but ...

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 Barry Buccaneers picked up just their second win of the season on Saturday, upsetting Florida Tech 2-1 in a Sunshine State Conference match. The loss snapped the Panthers six-game winning streak and also earned them their first conference loss.   The Panthers (8-2, 5-1 SSC) got a couple shots early, including one by Luca Campanini in the 23rd minute. Campanini played about four more minutes before Brandon Smalley took his spot on the field.   Barry (2-5-2, 2-4-1 SSC) got on the board first when Toby Fura scored in the 34th minute, giving the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead. He beat FIT goalie Christopher Page and gave the visitors the early advantage.   Smalley took a shot high and wide a few moments later, but it didn't take long for him to make an impact, as he found Italo Ramos on a crossing pass and he drilled it into the bottom of the net, past Barry goaltender Marco Sordi. That tied the game 1-1, with 43:16 gone by.   The game remained tied a...

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 ...

When things are going right, they're going right and the Florida Tech Panthers found that out Saturday when they got a lucky bounce in overtime to beat the Embry-Riddle Eagles in a Sunshine State Conference men's soccer showdown.   With the game tied at one and the game 28 seconds into overtime, Toby Cassidy tried to clear the ball for the Eagles and it ended up hitting Brandon Smalley of the Panthers and bounding past Embry-Riddle netminder Richard Dearle for the game-winning tally.   With the victory, the 24th ranked Panthers notched their fifth straight win and moved to 7-1 overall. They kept their unblemished conference record intact, at 4-0 and improved to 4-0 on the road.   Things didn't look good early, as the Panthers were whistled for a penalty at the 35:31 mark when Daniel Gylfason was taken down in the box. The penalty kick was awarded and Magnus Magnusson made the Panthers pay, as he fired it by Panthers goalie Christopher Page .   ...

Rick Stottler Field Florida Tech women's soccer earned their second tie of the season on Saturday, this one against Embry-Riddle. The two teams played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer at Rick Stottler Field in Melbourne.   The Panthers (5-3-2, 2-2-1 SSC) managed 18 shots in the match, but Eagles goaltender Dana Ruchti saved all six shots on goal. Panthers netminder Karlyn Prisco was equal to the task, picking up seven saves. Embry-Riddle took a total of 20 shots.   Florida Tech took a total of 10 shots in the first half, including four shots on goal in the first eight minutes. In the second half, the Eagles fired the first shot 1:42 in, but Prisco made the save. At the 49:37 mark, Monica Zabian earned a corner kick and placed a nice ball to Keira McCarthy , who hit the post.   Rachel Owens took a corner for Embry-Riddle in the 63rd minute and the resulting shot by Ragnheidur Gardarsdo went wide. Moments later the Eagles Maria Schmiedhofer got behind ...

Solomon Wheatley had a goal taken away from him when the Panthers game against Saint Leo was postponed on Friday after the field became unplayable. On Wednesday, Wheatley got that goal back, as he scored the game-winner 69:48 into the game, giving the Panthers a 2-1 win over Florida Southern at Rick Stottler Field.   The Panthers (6-1, 3-0 SSC) had to come back in this one, as the Moccasins got on the board 6:50 into the contest, taking advantage of a turnover by Florida Tech on a throw-in. The ball came to Christoph Gums, who pushed it in, surprising Panthers goalie Christopher Page .  He was unable to react, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. James Smith got the assist.   It took FIT some time to get their bearings, but they got things going when Evan Enders made a nice pass to Brandon Smalley , who found Per Henrik Nag cutting in. He knocked it past Mocs' goalie Benny Yusufoglu, tying the game at one, with 20:44 to go in the first half.   That goa...

Maria Munoz continued her dominance on Saturday, scoring two goals and adding one assist in Florida Tech's 4-2 women's soccer victory at Saint Leo.   Munoz who had a hat trick back on September 20th in a 4-1 home win over Lynn now leads the Sunshine State Conference with 15 points overall. She has six goals and three assists.   Keira McCarthy and Kelly Johnson were the other Panther goal scorers in this match and goalie Karlyn Prisco allowed two goals while making two saves. Lions goalie Julia Ortiz made three saves.   It took just 14:54 for Munoz to find the back of the net. She took a pass from Kiana Zanganeh just inside the 18-yard box and drilled past Ortiz.   With the second half winding down, Munoz shared the wealth, as she found McCarthy who had a good look and put it past Ortiz for a 2-0 lead, with 3:37 left in the first half.   Florida Tech (5-2-1, 2-1-0 SSC) took just 6:54 to get on the board in the second half. Munoz ma...

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....