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#20 Women’s Lacrosse Unstoppable in Complete Team Effort at #23 Florida Tech

  BOX SCORE MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Saint Leo women’s lacrosse team, ranked 20^th, was unstoppable at Florida Tech, ranked 23^rd, on Saturday in Melbourne, Fla. The complete team effort yielded a spectacular 19-6 win over the top-25 Panthers. The dominant performance claimed the Green and Gold’s first win of the season moving their record to 1-2, 1-1 in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC). Fourth-year head coach Caitlin Hansen exclaimed, “It was great to get the win after a full team effort! Emma Crafton made big saves in the cage and our entire defensive unit had another solid effort. Our offense found its’ rhythm today and we saw first career Saint Leo goals for Nina Urban and Reagan Buhrman. Fiona McLaughlin really stepped it up, putting six in the back of the net!” Freshman Fiona McLaughlin gave opponents on the field and those watching the live stream whiplash as heads turned to see the Marietta, Georgia native come off the bench and score six goals off six shots. She was followed by graduate student Delaney Chrisco with four goals off five shots. The veteran midfielder captured the program’s all-time caused turnover record on Wednesday and added four more for a total of 75. Chrisco is in the midst of chasing down another program record; draw controls. She earned three at Florida Tech for a career tally of 173, just five shy from Allie Sheftall’s (2013-16) record of 178. Meanwhile, Ashley Salvett earned a team-high four draw controls in the afternoon’s victory. Sophomore attacker, Ashlee Wilsynski, doubled her season goal count with a hat-trick against the Panthers and assisted in two for a strong five-point game. Senior goalkeeper Emma Crafton posted a career-high 11 saves in Melbourne. The Naples, Florida native protected the Lions’ net for 52 minutes of action before sophomore Rachel Smythe took over the responsibilities. Records Florida Tech 0-3, 0-2 SSC Saint Leo 1-2, 1-1 SSC How it Happened Tied at 3-3 at 21:27 in the first, the Green and Gold’s offense broke out eight straight goals. The offensive surge saw six different goal scores while Wilsynski and Kaci Archer registered two assists apiece. With the score at 11-3, the Panthers snapped the Lions’ streak with a goal right before the half. The teams exchanged a goal in the opening five minutes of the second half; 12-5. Saint Leo saw Chrisco score her fourth followed by Buhrman’s first collegiate goal. Florida Tech scored one last time before the Lions ended the game on a five-goal run. Up Next Saint Leo returns home to University Turf Stadium to host the Tars of Rollins College, ranked seventh, on Saturday, April 3 at 1 p.m. For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women’s lacrosse, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.   ****************  

Florida Tech Drops Home Opener to Saint Leo

Panthers’ offense stalls as Florida Tech falls to Lions 19-6 in top-25 matchup at Panther Stadium MELBOURNE, Fla. – No. 23 Florida Tech was dealt a 19-6 loss by No. 20 Saint Leo in the Panthers’ home opener on Saturday at Panther Stadium. Mollie Kaplan recorded two goals and three draw controls. Caroline MacLeod added one goal, an assist, a game-high eight draw controls, one ground ball and one caused turnover. Rachel Johnson, Alexis Townsend and Kyla Vendemia each tallied one goal in the game. Kailee O’Brien had one assist and two draw controls and Millie Hurt contributed one assist and one ground ball. Olivia Going finished with one caused turnover in the game, she is now just two away from 100 career caused turnovers. Emily Harris made six saves in the loss. It was a back-and-forth contest during the first 10 minutes. Townsend opened up the scoring with a man-up goal off an assist from Hurt just 2:15 into the game. The Lions scored consecutive goals to grab a 2-1 lead with 23:44 left in the first half. MacLeod evened the game on a man-up tally with 22:07 to go but SLU answered less than a minute later to regain a one-goal lead. Kaplan scored an unassisted goal, her first of the season, with 19:59 remaining to tie the score at 3-3. The Lions took over from there with eight unanswered goals to jump out to an 11-3 lead with 17 seconds to go before halftime. The Panthers scored quickly off the ensuing draw as Vendemia found the back of the net off an assist from MacLeod to make the score 11-4 at halftime. After SLU pushed its lead to 12-4 early in the second half, Kaplan scored her second goal off an assist from O’Brien to cut the margin to seven with 24:02 remaining. The Lions outscored Tech, 7-1, the rest of the game as the Panthers’ struggles continued in the second half. Johnson provided the final goal for the Crimson & Gray with an unassisted goal at the 18:24 mark. Saint Leo finished with an advantage in shots (31-22) and ground balls (19-8). Tech collected more draw controls (13-12) but had more turnovers in the game (14-10). The Panthers went 9-10 on clear attempts while SLU converted 14-17 tries. Florida Tech (0-3) will look to get on track in its next game but have a tough matchup ahead as the Panthers travel to Winter Park for a bout with No. 7 Rollins on Wednesday, March 31. Start time for the contest is 7:30 p.m. at Barker Family Stadium. For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech women’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

Lions Spoil Panthers Home Opener

  Excerpt: The 23rd-ranked Florida Tech Panthers lacrosse team hosted the No. 20 Saint Leo Lions in a Sunshine State Conference clash. A big first half saw the Lions reel off eight straight goals and nine of 10, leading to a 19-6 victory. Florida Tech was outshot 31-22 and turned the ball over 14 times to Saint Leo’s 10. Tech was 9-for-10 on clears, while the Lions went 14-for-17. The groundballs went in favor of Saint Leo, 19-8. Mollie Kaplan had two goals on the day for the Panthers. Fiona McLaughlin led the Lions with six, Delaney Chrisco had four, and Ashlee Wilsynski ended the day with a hat trick.   Read the rest HERE