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#9 FIT Uses 9-2 Second Half to Defeat #6 Rollins 14-10 – Both Press Releases

photo via FIT web site   FIT Press Release   WINTER PARK, Fla. (Women’s Lacrosse) – No. 9 Florida Tech (12-2, 3-1 SSC) dominated the second half against Sunshine State Conference rival, No. 6 Rollins (12-4, 2-2 SSC) on Thursday night, outscoring the Tars 9-2 over the final 30 minutes to earn a 14-10 comeback victory on the road. With the win, the Panthers clinched the 2-seed in next week’s SSC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament. The result will also certainly give Florida Tech a boost in the NCAA regional rankings as the Tars (No.4) sat one spot ahead of the Panthers (No. 5) in the South Region poll. Sara Grenier led FIT with four goals on seven shots. Allie Modica recorded three goals, an assist, three draw controls and two ground balls. Caroline Dunleavy and Lauren Tybor each tallied a hat trick in the victory. Florida Tech finished with more shots, 25-18, and ground balls, 18-14. The Tars ended the matchup with more draw controls, 13-11. Rollins jumped on the Panthers early on and led 5-1 with 20:45 left in the first half. Goals by Grenier and Modica cut the deficit to 5-3 with 10:17 remaining. However, the Tars outscored FIT 3-2 the rest of the half and took an 8-5 advantage into halftime. After RC scored the opening goal of the second half to push its lead to 9-5, the Panthers started their surge. Dunleavy kicked off the run with a pair of goals 15 seconds apart to make it a 9-7 game. Tybor and Grenier then scored to tie the game up at 9-9 with 13:04 remaining. Tybor struck again 14 seconds later to hand the Panthers their first lead of the game, but RC’s Kallie German evened up the score at 10-10 just over a minute later. However, FIT quickly responded with goals by Grenier, Modica and Tybor to push the advantage to 13-10 with 4:23 left on the clock. Modica’s put the icing on the cake with her empty net goal with 18 seconds remaining as the Panthers earned their first ever victory over Rollins. It’s the Crimson & Gray’s second win over a Top 10 team in the program’s three-year history. The Panthers defeated No. 6 New Haven 11-10 in overtime during the 2016 season. Florida Tech will have to brush this victory aside quickly as the Panthers will have to prepare for a rematch with the Tars in eight days when the two teams square off in the semifinals of the SSC Tournament on Friday, Mar. 28, in Lakeland, Fla. Stay tuned to FloridaTechSports.com for details on the time and live coverage of the semifinal matchup.   =====   Rollins Press Release   WINTER PARK, Fla.  (April 20, 2017) – After holding onto an 8-5 lead at the half, the sixth-ranked Rollins women’s lacrosse team was unable roll their momentum into the second half, falling to the ninth-ranked Florida Tech Panthers by a final score of 14-10 on Thursday evening at Barker Family Stadium and Cahall-Sandspur Field. Rollins closes out its regular season campaign with a record of 12-4, and 2-2 in Sunshine State Conference action, while the Panthers finish their 2017 regular season with a mark of 12-2, and 3-1 in SSC action. Kallie German led the team in goals as she tallied a hat trick on the night, followed by Hannah Ashton and Maggie Dougherty with two goals each.  Brittany Eveler matched the freshman duo in points with two, tallying a goal and one assist.  Rounding out the scoring efforts for the Tars were Paige Brock and Megan Cury with one goal apiece.  Lindsay Van Beck led the team in ground balls with three, followed by Malorie Olin with two.  Ashton won a game high four draw controls, while Van Beck and Jessica Kopenhaver caused a team high two turnovers each.  In goal, Olin played a full 60 minutes, earning five saves while allowing 14 goals. The Panthers were led by Sara Grenier who scored a game high four goals, followed by Allie Modica, Caroline Dunleavy, and Lauren Tybor with three apiece.  Leah Dunn added one goal of her own to close out FIT’s goal count on the night.  Modica added an assist to match Grenier in points with four, while Aleah Fjelstad and Alexis Townsend notched one assist each.  Stephanie Stuart, Tybor, and Olivia Going picked up a team best three ground balls, while Sam Schiano and Going caused a team best three turnovers apiece.  Off the draw, Modica and Tybor won three each to lead the team on the night.  Stuart played a full game between the pipes, earning four saves while allowing 10 goals. HIGHLIGHTS AND HALF ANALYSIS First Half l Rollins opened up to a three goal lead thanks to two straight goals by Dougherty to open the game, followed by a goal by German at the 23:36 mark to give the Tars a 3-0 advantage.  Florida Tech broke the run with a goal at the 21:53 mark thanks to a goal by Dunleavy off of an assist by Fjelstad, but the Tars added two more to extend their lead to 5-1 with 20:45 to go in the first half.  Eight minutes fell off the clock before Florida Tech could break the Tars’ scoring run, with Grenier finding the back of the net at the 12:41 mark, followed by another Panther goal with 10:17 to go in the half to pull FIT back to within two, 5-3.  Rollins saw two consecutive goals, scored by Ashton and German within a minute of each other, pulling the Tars back out to a four goal lead, 7-3, with 7:28 on the clock.  FIT answered back with two of their own, setting the score at 7-5 with 2:37 to play in the period, but a last-minute free position attempt for Paige Brock with 1.4 seconds on the clock turned into a converted shot at the horn, giving the Tars an 8-5 advantage at the break. Second Half l  Rollins scored first to open the second half scoring with Eveler finding the back of the net on a free position shot at the 18:44 mark to give Rollins a 9-5 lead.  However, the Panthers hit their stride and rattled off three goals in under a minute to pull to within one of the Tars, 9-8, with 15:48 on the clock.  The Panthers pulled even with the Tars at the 13:04 mark thanks to a goal by Grenier, and earned their first lead of the game 14 seconds later as Tybor placed a shot in the back of the net with 12:50 to go in the half to give FIT a 10-9 lead.  German knotted the score at 10-10 a little over a minute later, but the Panthers closed out the game with four unanswered goals to earn the 14-10 victory.  GAME NOTES
  • Rollins has now squared up against its seventh nationally-ranked opponent this season.
  • Rollins leads the all-time series against the Panthers, 3-1.
  • The last time the Tars squared up against the Panthers, Rollins earned the 15-14 victory in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Semifinals on April 29, 2016.
  • The Tars and Panthers are now set to match up in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Semifinals for the second straight season.
  • Lineup Breakdown:  Florida Tech saw an equal number of upperclassmen and underclassmen take to the field with seven each, including one senior, six juniors, two sophomores, and five freshmen.  The Tars saw 14 underclassmen and six upperclassmen take to the turf, including seven freshmen, seven sophomores, three juniors, and three seniors. 
NEXT UP FOR THE TARS Rollins returns to action on Friday, April 28, when they face Florida Tech in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Semifinals.  The 2017 SSC Tournament will be hosted by Florida Southern, and will feature the top-seeded Moccasins taking on the fourth-seed Saint Leo Lions, while the second-seed Panthers will square up against the No. 3 seed Tars in semifinal action.  Game times will be release in the coming days.  Links to live coverage will be available on RollinsSports.com.    

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