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 ...

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...

Grant McKown - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech and Saint Leo both showcased their offense on Saturday, as the teams combined for 38 runs in a doubleheader. The Lions took game one 11-5 and the Panthers stormed back to take game two, 17-5. The Panthers hit six home runs in game two alone, three of those coming in the first inning. They hit two in game one, including a leadoff homer from Grant McKown . Saint Leo came back with three runs in the bottom of the second, before the Panthers got one back in the top of the third, on a Dan Szpik RBI single. Florida Tech starter Tyler Deel ran into trouble again in the bottom of the sixth, after getting the first two outs. Derek Gibree walked and went to second on a Lane Stancil single. An RBI single by Dylan Harris made it 4-1. That was the end of the day for Deel, who gave way to Justin Barney . A two-run double by Mata and an RBI single by Chase Turner, gave the home team a 7-2 lead. Rhett Willis took ove...

Reid Neal - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Reid Neal broke a 4-4 seventh inning tie with a two-run home run Friday night, sending the Florida Tech Panthers to a 7-4 win over Sunshine State Conference foe, Saint Leo. It was the seventh long ball of the season for Neal. Florida Tech (24-15, 8-5 SSC) took an early lead with three runs in the top of the second, against Lions’ starter Tyler Bauman. Dan Szpik singled and after Nick Capra walked, David Wilson singled Szpik home, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third and Bauman proceeded to walk Ryan Sinzenich and Vincenzo Catanza , giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Trent Masih hit into a double play, allowing the third run to score. The Panthers added a run in the third, when John Sternagel walked stole second and later got caught between third and home, before scoring on an errant throw. That made it 4-0. T y Cohen , who got the start for the Panthers stayed out o...

Allie Modica - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Sara Grenier and Allie Modica tallied six goals each Tuesday night, as the Panthers trampled the Saint Leo Lions 22-7 in a Sunshine State Conference women’s lacrosse matchup. The Panthers surpassed the 200-goal mark for the second time in school history. For Grenier, the current Sunshine State Conference Offensive Player of the week, it was her second consecutive six-goal game. Grenier wasted no time picking up right where she left off against Regis on Friday , scoring the first goal of the night 2:17 into the game, against Lions starting goaltender Erin Davis. Modica scored 55 seconds later, setting the tone for the night, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Saint Leo cut the lead to 2-1, before Grenier scored with 24:47 left. Sam Schiano picked up a yellow card for the Panthers, but the defense and Panthers goalie Stephanie Stuart kept the Lions off the board. Schiano made up for the yellow card moments later, g...

Brett Pohlmeyer - Photo credit:James Ragan Photography The 19 th ranked Florida Tech Panthers took one on the chin Saturday, losing to a very good Saint Leo team, 13-8 in a Sunshine State Conference lacrosse game. The Panthers never led in this one, getting within one goal a few different times, before Saint Leo would create distance. Saint Leo (9-3, 1-2 SSC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Panthers goalie Daniel Flock , to start the game, before Carson Clough got the Panthers on the board, with 4:18 to go in the first quarter. A man-up goal by Nick Wynne , made it 3-2 with 1:05 to go, but Anthony Visintin pushed the lead to two, with his goal 28 seconds before the quarter ended. Brett Pohlmeyer cut the Lions lead to 4-3, 2:02 into the second, but Saint Leo went on a three-goal run, making it 7-3, before Cody Martin scored with a man advantage, with 2:22 to go in the half. Jake Gilmour answered with a man-up goal, to double the Lions lead. The Panthers (6-5, 2...

Karina Suicava - Photo credit: James Ragan The Florida Tech softball team has been playing well as of late, but they ran into a buzz saw on Wednesday, losing to the fifth-ranked Saint Leo Lions 11-3 in game one and 7-0 in game two. The first game was picked up in the top of the first, after lightning forced the game to be suspended on Tuesday. With the sweep, the Lions run their win streak to 10 in a row, while Florida Tech had won two in a row. In game one, Saint Leo got on the board in the top of the second, when Alyssa Wash had an RBI double against Florida Tech starter Rachel Pence . The Lions would break things open in the third, with a seven-run outburst. After Karina Suicava made a great diving catch to rob Rachel Heath of a hit to start the inning, Pence walked Ciera Schumaker and Samantha Ohmie. After Brittany Creamer singled to load the bases. A walk and a hit by pitch made it 3-0 and after Pence got Wash on strikes, an RBI fielder’s choice by Sommer Pol...

The Saint Leo Lions had an amazing shooting night on Saturday, beating the Florida Tech Panthers 97-76 in a Sunshine State Conference Men’s basketball clash. Saint Leo had five guys in double figures, led by Antoine Tobias, who dropped in 26. Marcus Dewberry recorded a double-double with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Justin Satchell and Tyreece Brice had 15 and Junior Searcy added 11. Sam Daniel led the Panthers with 19, Jordan Majors had 14, Patrick Anderson 12 and Robert Booth added 10. The Lions (12-12, 6-8 SSC) got off to one of the hottest starts you will ever see in a basketball game, but Majors hit a couple three’s early, keeping the Panthers in it, 17-13. It wasn’t close for long, as the Lions hit 6-of-8 from three and Tobias had 11 points, many of those assisted by Dewberry, who had seven with 7:32 left in the half. They extended their lead to 42-31 with 4:01 left and extended their lead to 52-35 at the half. The home team was 20-of-27 from ...

DeLise Williams - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Saint Leo Lions overcame an 11-point first quarter deficit to beat the Florida Tech women, 70-65 in a Sunshine State Conference contest on Saturday at the Bowman Center. It was only the third win for the Lions in the conference. DeLise Williams led FIT with 16 points, including 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Gudlau Juliusdottir was the only other Florida Tech player in double digits, with 13. Three Lions players were in double digits, led by 21 from Chelsy Springs, who also had 11 rebounds, completing a double-double. Florida Tech coach John Reynolds couldn’t have drawn up a better start on the road than his team put together. Markeema Crawford and Williams hit back-to-back threes to jump out to a 12-5 lead. Williams hit another three as part of a 9-0 run and the Panthers were up 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Lions did not score in the last 4:14. The Lions (8-14, 3-11 SSC) started the second ...

Robert Booth - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers had their chances on Wednesday, but the Saint Leo Lions snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, beating the Panthers 90-79 in overtime. The game was much closer than the score would indicate, as the Lions outscored the Panthers 14-3 in overtime, with 11 of those points coming on free throws. The Panthers (11-7, 4-5 SSC) were frustrated at times down the stretch, combined with Saint Leo getting seemingly every call to go their way at crucial times in the game. Sam Daniel led all scorers with 28 points for Florida Tech, Patrick Anderson and Jordan Majors had 19 each.  The first half went the way of the Panthers as they held Saint Leo’s big three of Justin Satchell had seven points, Tyreece Bryce did not score and Marcus Dewberry had six points. Meanwhile, the Panthers closed on a 12-5 run to end the half and went to the locker room, up 12. “Our game plan was outstanding an...

The Florida Tech Men’s Soccer team beat the Saint Leo Lions 2-1 Wednesday, in a Sunshine State Conference showdown. Stian Tsesmetsis and Evan Enders tallied for the Panthers, who moved to 4-0-1 overall. The Tsesmetsis goal came 1:59 into the contest, off a corner kick by Josh Thomas. Jack Turnbull had a chance to put his team up by two 25 seconds later, but Lions’ goalie Conor McElhinney was up to the task. Florida Tech starting goalie Christian Moerch made three saves in the first half, including an early header by Ricardo Navia. He robbed Brandon Rivera in the 25 th minute and Keisuke Ohata in the 28 th minute. Fabian Egbele took a shot at the 35:37 mark, but McElhinney made his third save of the half on that shot. Evan Enders added an insurance goal for the Panthers at the 51:34 mark, with the assist to Brandon Smalley , giving the Panthers a two goal lead. Things proceeded to get pretty chippy following that goal. Joaquin Peluffo and Haydn Dickinson both r...

The Saint. Leo Lions scored two late goals Wednesday night, erasing Florida Tech’s lead and picking up a big 3-2 win in Women’s Soccer on Wednesday night. Florida Tech dented the scoreboard immediately, when Keira McCarthy picked off a ball in the Saint Leo side if the field and burned by the defense, before drilling a ball by Lions goalie Julia Ortiz. McCarthy got another shot off at the 1:37 mark, but Ortiz was able to keep that one out. The Panthers (5-2, 1-2 SSC) made good on their next opportunity at the 11:03 mark when Ciera Misner got a free kick that Eva Banton pushed to Elin Svensson, who headed it past Ortiz and gave Florida Tech a quick 2-0 lead. Saint Leo (5-1, 3-0 SSC) closed the gap to 2-1 on a goal by Arielle Kabangu, who beat Karlyn Prisco in net for the Panthers. The Lions had two consecutive corner kicks in the 29 th minute, but neither team was able to score before the end of the half. Each team took six shots on goal in the first half, with Saint...