Viera alum Nate Deplancke 1G/2A

via FIT press release/website

BOX SCORE

Men’s Lacrosse Unable to Hold off RV Westminster

by Christina Hardman

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Florida Tech men’s lacrosse held the lead during the first two periods but were outscored in the third frame and were unable to come back, dropping an 18-16 decision to RV Westminster on Saturday night.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final:  Florida Tech 16, RV Westminster 18
Records: Florida Tech (1-5, 0-0 SSC) | RV Westminster (3-0, 1-0 RMAC)
Locations: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER:

• Collin Stewart got things started, scoring in the first 50 seconds of play. WU’s Luke Silstrop tied it up 30 seconds later.
• Stewart found Zach Rozgonyi for his first goal of the night with 11:49 to go.
• The Griffins tied it up on a man-up opportunity, 9:04 on the clock.
• Tech then scored three straight to push their lead out to 5-2.
• Stewart started the run, finding the back of the net of a feed from Gavin Stecher.
• Ben Foster netted one on an assist from Rozgonyi before Rozgonyi scored one of his own, 3:24 to go.
• WU added two goals to end the period, with a Griffin Martin goal in between.

SECOND QUARTER:

• Martin kept the momentum going for Tech, scoring less than a minute in.
• Teams traded the next four goals. Panther goals were scored by Stewart with an assist from Nate DePlancke and an unassisted goal by Martin.
• WU posted three straight goals to tie it up 9-9, 2:38 to go.
• Stecher took back the lead for Tech on a feed from Jack Maranto.
• The Griffins scored with under two minutes on the clock to tie it up, 10-10, heading into the break.

THIRD QUARTER:

• WU took their first lead of the night with 10:40 on the clock.
• The Panthers took the lead back scoring three consecutive goals. Two of the three goals were scored by Rozgonyi, with a Cam Johnson goal sandwiched in between.
• The Griffins posted four straight goals to take a 15-13 lead into the final frame.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• DePlancke tallied his lone goal on an assist from Stewart, 10:51 to go.
• WU scored back-to-back but Tech answered back scoring two straight. Both Panther goals were scored by Stewart and assisted by DePlancke and Rozgonyi.
• With 1:19 to go, WU brought their lead back out to two goals and relaxed for the remainder of the game as Tech went a man-down for the final 49 seconds.  

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Collin Stewart led the Panthers with seven points on four goals and three assists.
• Zach Rozgonyi posted six points on four goals and two assists while also collecting two ground balls and causing one turnover.
• Griffin Martin posted a hat trick.
• Gavin Stecher recorded two goals while Cam Johnson posted one goal and one assist.
• JR Radun collected five ground balls.
• Jax Francisco recorded 15 saves and collected one ground ball.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Tech led Westminster in ground balls (33-25) and had fewer turnovers (14-12).
• Westminster edged out Tech in shots (45-44) and shots on goal (33-29).
• Tech went 18-20 on clears while WU went 14-16.
• WU went .500 on extra man opportunities and Tech went 0-3.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This was the first meeting between the two teams since a 15-12 Griffin victory on March 12, 2020.
• Zach Rozgonyi’s fourth goal was his 100^th career goal.
• With his seven points, Collin Stewart moved up to number 4 all-time for career points with 137.

UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action on Saturday, March 16, when they travel to West Palm Beach to open Conference play against Palm Beach Atlantic. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.