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FIT Men: Freshman Duo Propels Tech to 11-8 Road Win over Maryville, Plus SportsLowdown.com Coverage

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in , , , .
  via FIT press release, photo by Jen Jones   BOX SCORE ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Freshman attackmen Jesse Morgan and Caiden Rast combined for seven goals to lead Florida Tech to its first victory of the season, an 11-8 decision over Maryville. Trailing 8-7 heading into the fourth quarter, the Panthers outscored the Saints 4-0 in the frame en route to winning the first-ever meeting between the teams. “It always feels good to get in the win column, especially the first one of the season,” said head coach Mark Penn. “The guys have worked hard but we have a lot to improve on. The schedule gets tougher from here and we need to clean up our play if we are going to compete in those games.” Morgan recorded a game-high four goals on just five shots. Rast notched a hat trick to go along with five ground balls. “It was great to see Caiden and Jesse step up when their number was called,” Penn stated. “They added a spark to the offense and made the most of the opportunity.” Justin Williams finished with four points on a goal and three assists while Luke Palmisano added a goal and fished out two dimes in the game. Kyle Sergio registered three caused turnovers and four ground balls. Jake Hahn earned the win in goal making 12 saves in his first start of the season. “Jake Hahn got the start in goal and played a complete game for us,” Penn added. “He came up with big saves at the right time and sealed our win. I am very happy for Jake. He’s waited patiently and been a consummate professional. Today he got his shot. “Overall, I am very pleased with how the defense played. They did a great job today. I am blessed to have great assistant coaches in Tyler Oblong and Ray Bannister, who have done a masterful job working with that group.” Florida Tech dominated the face-off X in the game, winning 20-of-22 attempts thanks to an impressive display by Ethan Tosheff. The sophomore won 17-of-19 draws and picked up 15 ground balls, both are career-highs. Each team recorded 30 shots in the game with Tech having a slight edge in shots on goal 20-19. The Panthers were successful on 16-of-20 clears, compared to 15-of-24 by the Saints. Tech also finished with an advantage in ground balls, 47-28. Both teams were unsuccessful on the man-up, going a combined 0-4. Maryville kicked off the scoring less than four minutes into the game to grab an early 1-0 lead. The Panthers responded with four straight tallies including three by Morgan, who initiated the run with 10:19 to go in the opening quarter. Tech was back on the board six seconds later as Tosheff won the ensuing face-off and moved the ball to Palmisano, who found Rast on the crease to the Panthers up 2-1. Then with 7:26 to go in the first, Morgan made the score 3-1 on a transition goal off an assist from Robert Filipow. The freshman then buried his third goal of the game off a feed from Williams, 53 seconds later, to increase the margin to 4-1. The Saints stopped the run on a goal with one tick left on the clock to make the score 4-2 at the end of the first. Maryville netted the first four goals of the second quarter to jump ahead 6-4 with 3:37 remaining before halftime. Williams’ lone goal of the game came on a great individual effort that cut the deficit to one with 2:39 left. With 1:07 to go in the half, Andy Stump threaded a pass to Rast for his second goal, which made the score 6-6 as the teams went into the locker rooms for halftime. Maryville regained its lead with 7:54 left in the third quarter. Sam Sidari evened the game at 7-7 on an unassisted effort at the 4:18 mark before a late goal by the Saints handed the home team an 8-7 edge heading into the fourth quarter. Rast tied the game, and completed his hat trick, on an unassisted goal less than a minute into the fourth. Williams then connected with Morgan to push the Panthers’ lead to 9-8 with 12:34 to go. Palmisano beat his defender with a nice speed dodge around the Saints’ net to put Tech up 10-8. Reid Chaconas sealed Florida Tech’s victory with 5:11 remaining, off an assist from Palmisano, to increase the final margin to three goals. Florida Tech is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 22, as the Panthers battle No. 1 Limestone in a neutral site matchup at Bishop England High School in Charleston, S.C. Opening face-off is set for 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.   *****   via SportsLowdown.com  

Panthers Topple Maryville For First Win

  Excerpt: The Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team got their first win of the season on Monday, beating Maryville College 11-8 on Monday in St. Louis Missouri. This was a nice bounce-back for the Panthers, who were beaten in the final seconds of Saturday’s game against Lindenwood. Panthers junior goalie Jake Hahn made 12 saves in the Panthers victory. Each team took 30 shots in this contest. It was a big day for the youngsters on the Panthers roster on Monday, as freshmen Jesse Morgan scored four times, and Caiden Rast had his first career hat-trick in this one, picking up the goal that gave the Panthers their first lead (2-1) and had the goals that tied the game at six, and at eight. Read the rest HERE  

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