Sports Lowdown

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 ...

Carson Clough - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Tampa Spartans took down Florida Tech 15-10 Saturday, in a Sunshine State Conference game. Tampa used a seven-goal first quarter to put the Panthers behind the eight ball early and the visitors never recovered. With the victory, the Spartans secured their fourth straight SSC title. Logan Sweeney and Reid Chaconas were the only multi-goal scorers for Florida Tech in this one, each finishing with two goals. Carson Clough  led the Panthers with four points (1 G, 3 A). Jake Mosher McGraw and Conor Whipple each had a hat trick in front of the home crowd. Florida Tech starting goalie Daniel Flock gave up 14 goals and Matt Young, who played only 10 seconds, gave up one goal. Statistically, the game was close in a lot of categories, but Tampa held a 28-19 advantage in ground balls and that meant more possession time. They made it count.   Cody Martin scored the only goal for the Panthers in that ...

Mary Gormley - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Women’s lacrosse team celebrated Senior Night in grand fashion Saturday, with a 19-3 victory over Tampa in a Sunshine State Conference contest. The Panthers were able to get everybody in the game, clearing the bench in the second half. “This was obviously a conference game we wanted to win,” said Florida Tech coach Corinne Desrosiers. Point differential doesn’t really matter, we wanted to win and we wanted to make sure everyone got looks.” It was the final home game for Allie Modica , who finished with a hat trick. She was joined by fellow seniors Arielle Gunderson and Jesse DePaolo , who were honored prior to the game. Coach Desrosiers said that Modica would probably end up being a Hall of Famer for the program. “She’s done great thing for us,” she said. “We’re really fortunate that she transferred from UConn and came down and played.” “Arielle came in at the right time too,” Desrosiers con...

Grant McKown - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers were riding high going into Saturday’s doubleheader against Tampa. They won Friday’s opener over the Spartans 14-8, sending Tampa to their second conference loss of the season. Unfortunately, Florida Tech couldn’t carry the momentum into Saturday, losing game one 6-2 and game two, 8-2. Florida Tech broke through in the third inning of game one, scoring both of their runs against Spartans starter David LeBron. Vincenzo Catanza singled and was sacrificed to second by Trent Masih . Grant McKown singled him home and McKown eventually came home on a sacrifice fly by John Sternagel . Tampa answered in the top of the fourth, scoring three times against Florida Tech starter Tyler Deel . Kevin Santa was hit by a pitch to start the inning and he got to trot home on a home run by Darren Miller. Andrew DiLacqua’s sac fly brought the third run home. They would score two more runs in the top of th...

Daniel Szpik - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech handed the Tampa Spartans their second loss in conference play on Friday night, as Daniel Szpik hit two homers in a 14-8 win over the Spartans. Florida Tech out hit Tampa 12-10. The Panthers used a seven-run second inning and kept the high-powered Spartans at arm’s length all night, earning a huge Sunshine State Conference win.  Szpik went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and scored three runs, while John Sternagel homered and drove in three. Tampa (21-8, 8-2 SSC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Florida Tech starter Ty Cohen . J.D Osborne had a sac fly, Laz Rivera had an infield hit and Vin Cosenzo’s RBI ground out gave Tampa the early lead. The Panthers got one run back in the bottom of the inning, when David Wilson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The bottom of the second was the difference in the game. The Panthers sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times, against Tampa starter G...

Following a loss on Friday in game one of the series, the Florida Tech softball team looked for revenge Saturday in a doubleheader against the Tampa Spartans. Unfortunately, the home team had other ideas, as they swept the Panthers 3-2 and 6-1. Game one took nine innings to decide a winner, with Tampa scoring in the bottom of the frame, thanks to a Shelby Press RBI single. Florida Tech (10-8, 0-3 SSC) struck first in game one against Tampa starter Corynn Miner. Vanessa Rubio reached on a fielder’s choice and came home on a Hailey Leonard double. After Makayla Palmer walked, Rachel Kraak singled home Leonard, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. Audrey Gangloff walked, loading the bases, but Kaitlin Buchholz flied out to end the inning. Rachel Pence got the start for Florida Tech and like Miner, ran into early trouble. Taylor Farrell singled with one out and was chased home on a triple by Bre Setree. A sac fly by Makaleigh Dooley, tied things up at two. It was a p...

Pitching was the name of the game Friday night, as the Tampa Spartans beat Florida Tech 2-0 in the Sunshine State Conference softball opener for the Panthers. Rachel Pence (7-4) allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in six innings of work. She struck out one and walked one. On most nights that would be good enough for a victory, but on this night, she was outdueled by Makaleigh Dooley, who went the distance for the home team, allowing just one hit to the Panthers. The Panthers did get a runner on in the top of the first when Vanessa Rubio reached on an error, but she was stranded. Tampa got on the board in the bottom of the second when Corynn Miner doubled with one out and came home one batter later, on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Maddie Farrell. Florida Tech (10-6, 0-1) threatened in the top of the fourth, starting the inning with a Krista Patterson single, Rubio hit into a fielder’s choice and moved to second on Makayla Palmer ’s walk. Rachel Kraak then ...

Gracie Doane - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Women’s Basketball team fell to Tampa 66-53 Saturday, in a Sunshine State Conference tilt. Spartans’ senior Elena de Alfredo, hit seven of her 13 shots, including two three-pointers, leading the home team with 19 points. The first half was nip-and-tuck, with each team scoring 11 points in the first quarter. Back-to-back threes by de Alfredo late in the first quarter gave the Spartans an 11-8 lead, but Gracie Doane answered late for the Panthers, tying things up. Doane finished with 11 points, including three of eight from beyond the arc. She was the only Florida Tech player in double figures on this day. DeLise Williams started the second quarter with a three for the Panthers, giving them a 14-13 lead, but de Alfredo answered with another bucket and she had 12 of Tampa’s 15 points early. The Panthers hit a bit of a lull, going scoreless for 3:38, but they hung tough and trailed 22-21. Julie McC...

Photo Credit: James Ragan Photography  The Florida Tech Men’s basketball team traveled to Tampa Saturday to take on the Spartans and watched a seven-point halftime deficit turn into a 96-66 loss. The Panthers had a tire blow on the way to the game, resulting in a 20-minute delay to the start of the game. They blew another tire in figurative sense on the court, as their defense had no answer for the Spartans, who hit 17 of their 37 three-pointers, with 10 of those coming off the hot hand of Anthony Gamble, who finished with 32 points to lead the home team. Tampa also won the rebounding battle handily, grabbing 45 off the glass, to the Panthers 25. “That’s the worst performance we’ve had in a decade, period,” said Florida Tech coach Billy Mims in his postgame interview with Paul Van Scott. “We tried every defense on the planet and none of them worked.” The Panthers were down early in this one, hitting two of nine shots at one point, but they battled back with ...

The Florida Tech Women’s Soccer team dropped their final conference match of the season on Saturday night, as they were beaten by the Tampa Spartans 3-2, at Pepin Stadium. The Spartans only took three shots in the first half, but one of them found the back of the net, when Nastasia Asgedom took a crossing pass from Gabby Scirica in the box and rifled it by Panthers goaltender Karlyn Prisco , giving the home squad a 1-0 lead. It took just 2:45 for the Panthers to get the equalizer when Senior Aubri Williamson beat Spartans keeper Caroline Frykgard. Those were the only goals scored by either team in the first 45 minutes and the teams went to the locker room tied 1-1. Tampa (6-7-2) dented the scoreboard again 10:54 into the second half when Sarah Raymond found Ali Robinson with a crossing pass and Robinson headed it past Prisco, giving Tampa their second lead of the contest, 2-1. The Panthers (9-5, 4-5 SSC) even things up again in the 76 th minute when Lauren Bolhuis...

The Tampa Spartans spoiled Senior Night in Melbourne, beating Florida Tech 3-1 in a Sunshine State Conference Men’s Soccer match on Saturday. The Panthers had their chances throughout the contest, firing 20 shots (11 on goal) in the loss, with 16 of those coming in the second half. Tampa (9-3-2, 4-3-1 SSC) jumped in front when Mike Ciluffo went one-on-one in the box, beat the defender and then beat Panthers’ goaltender Christian Moerch, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead 13:25 into the match. The goal was one of eight shots Tampa took in the first half. Florida Tech (8-3-1, 5-3 SSC) did not have a shot on goal in the first half and took just four shots total. This was unfamiliar territory for the Panthers, who usually get off a good number of shots in each half. Credit to Tampa’s defense for shutting down the Panthers offensive attack in the first 45 minutes.   The Spartans scored the eventual game winner just 2:12 into the second half, off the foot of Jake Winship...