via the school’s press releases/websites

BOX SCORE

Canyon Birch’s 6 Points Lead No.4 Tampa to Road Win

NAPLES, Fla. – No. 4 Tampa defeats Florida Tech on the road. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tampa jumped out to an early lead after Jackson Day scored a goal off an assist from Dom Roturra in the early minutes of the first quarter. The Spartans would go up two goals after Nick Papa scored on the man advantage towards the end of the first. The Panthers would get one back before heading in the second quarter, where Andrew Milani netted two goals to give the Spartans a 4-3 lead headed into halftime. 

Jackson Bashaw would get Tampa started in the second half, netting his sixth goal of the season off a pass from Mitchell Pfeiffer. Tampa and Florida Tech would trade goals in the third quarter, with Canyon Birch netting four goals in seven minutes. The Spartans would enter the final 15 with a 11-4 lead over the Panthers.

The Panthers came out strong to start the fourth scoring the first two goals of the quarter. The Spartans continued to score, with goals from Birch and Milani, earning the 13-8 road win. 

Stat of the Game – Canyon Birch tallied five goals, and one assist, leading the game with 6 points. 

TAMPA POST-GAME NOTES 

• Birch netted his third hat trick of the season.
• The Spartans lead the Sunshine State Conference in goals, with 60.
• Tampa moves to 3-1 on the season.
• Milani netted his second hat trick of the season.
• Luca Mercaldo tallied 12 saves. 

UP NEXT – The Spartans return home to take on Belmont Abbey on Saturday March 2nd, at 7:30p.m.

**********

Men’s Lacrosse Battles Early, Falters in Second Half against #4 Tampa

NAPLES, Fla. – Florida Tech men’s lacrosse headed to Naples, Fla., to take on #4 Tampa at the Southwest Shootout hosted at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex. The Panthers kept it a one-goal game in the first half, but third-quarter struggles saw the #4 Spartans push their lead out of the Panther’s reach.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final:  Florida Tech 8, #4 Tampa 13
Records: Florida Tech (0-4, 0-0 SSC) | #4 Tampa (3-1, 0-0 SSC)
Locations: Paradise Coast Sports Complex | Naples, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER:

• Tampa scored consecutive goals, including a man-up goal, to grab a 2-0 advantage with three minutes to go in the opening frame.
• Collin Stewart got the Panthers on the board on an unassisted effort with 1:57 left.
• Jack Maranto won the last faceoff of the period, but the Panthers were unable to get a shot off.

SECOND QUARTER:

• Teams traded goals in the second period.
• Tech’s goal came less than a minute into the frame, as Ben Foster found the back of the net off a feed from Griffin Martin.
• Tampa’s Andrew Milani scored one before Joe Coveleski scored to tie the game 3-3 with 12:03 to go.
• Milani posted the final goal of the period with 7:15 on the clock, giving Tampa a slight edge, 4-3, entering halftime.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Tampa opened the third period scoring three straight within less than four minutes to push their lead, 7-3.
• Stewart posted Tech’s lone goal of the third quarter on an assist from Zach Rozgonyi, 9:06 to go.
• Tech had opportunities to cut into the deficit, recording six shots, but couldn’t get past the Spartan’s defense.
• Tampa scored four goals over the final eight minutes to lead 11-4 going into the fourth period.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• The Panthers outscored the Spartans, 4-2, in the final frame.
• Tech opened the fourth with back-to-back goals. Rozgonyi scored his lone goal of the day before finding Cam McKee who fired one into the back of the net.
• Tampa scored two more to bring their lead back to seven, 13-6, with 5:56 to go.
• Tech’s final two goals came on unassisted efforts from Nicky Vreeland and Jonah Borynec.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Zach Rozgonyi led the Panthers with three points on one goal and two assists. He also collected two groundballs.
• Collin Stewart posted two goals and three groundballs.
• Ben Foster, Jonah Borynec, Nicky Vreeland, Cam McKee, and Joe Coveleski each tallied a goal.
• Ricky Fedorchak led the defense with five caused turnovers and seven ground balls.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech went 23-24 on clears, while Tampa was 20-21.
• Tampa led in shots (40-29) and ground balls (41-31), while both teams recorded 16 turnovers.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 1-18 all-time against the Tampa Spartans.
• Collin Stewart recorded his 100^th career point on his first goal to become the eighth Panther in program history with 100 or more career points.
• Rick Fedorchak’s five caused turnovers and seven ground balls are a career high.
• Jonah Borynec recorded his first career goal.

UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to Rick Stottler Field Saturday, March 2 to host Concordia-Irvine. The contest is set to begin at 1 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.