via FIT press release/website, by Christina Hardman, photo by Josiann Keenan

BOX SCORE

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The No. 15 Panthers earned a dominant 17-3 win over Wentworth Tech on their home field on Monday afternoon.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 15Florida Tech 17, Wentworth 3
Records: Florida Tech (2-1, 0-0 SSC) | Wentworth (2-2, 0-0 CCC)
Locations: Panther Field | Melbourne, Fla.  

FIRST QUARTER:

• Zach Rozgonyi scored the first two goals of the game for the Panthers. His first goal came off an assist by Nate Deplancke less than five minutes into the period. His second goal came on an unassisted effort just over two minutes later.  
• Tech closed out the period netting one more as Luke Policke found the back of the net on a man-up opportunity.

SECOND QUARTER:

• Tech went on to score six unanswered goals in the second quarter.
• Connor Young recorded his first goal of the season off an assist by Matt Josefson to put the Panthers up 4-0 with 7:51 remaining.
• Andrew Walenty added back-to-back unassisted goals to increase the margin 6-0.
• The panthers went on to score three more goals to close the half and take a convincing 9-0 lead. Jakob Terpak, Walenty, and Noah Stecher netted goals.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Deplancke opened the third period strong, finding the back of the net only 57 seconds in.
• Wentworth would score their first goal of the game with 8:43 left in the period, but Patrick Stewart quickly answered back.
• Rozgonyi completed the hat trick off an assist by Policke to close out the third period and take a 12-1 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• Deplancke and Stewart tallied back-to-back goals, both their second of the day, to take a 14-1 advantage with 11:31 remaining.
• The Leopards found an opportunity on a man-down possession with 8:32 to go.
• Tech quickly answered back, with Gary Lozito earning his first goal of the season.
• Stewart tallied a hat trick off a Stecher assist for a 16-2 lead with 5:15 remaining.
• Both teams would tally one goal a piece to end the game. Evan Park recorded his first career goal as a Panther.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Three Panthers recorded a hat trick – Patrick Stewart, Zach Rozgonyi, and Andrew Walenty.
• Luke Policke tallied one goal, two assists, four ground balls, and one caused turnover.
• Jack Maranto went 8-for-10 on faceoffs and tallied a team-high six ground balls
• Cooper Leonard went 9-for-13 on faceoffs, added five ground balls, and his first career assist.
• Jax Francisco posted nine saves over 40 minutes of play.
• Connor Davis finished two saves in 17:15 minutes in net.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Panthers finished with the edge in shots (51-20), ground balls (52-22), and faceoffs (18-6).
• Wentworth tallied 17 saves to Tech’s 11.
• The Leopards recorded two more turnovers then Tech (24-22).
• Tech was successful on 20-of-23 clears compared to 17-of-24 for the Leopards.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Rozgonyi’s three goals put him seventh all-time in program history with 70 career goals.
• Sam Balch’s three caused turnovers moved him up to third all-time in program history with 53 caused turnovers.

UP NEXT: Florida Tech will be back in action Wednesday, March 8 taking on Emmanuel (Ga.) at home at 2 p.m.


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