FIT: Senior Day Success as Panthers Pickup Sixth Straight Win
via press release by Alex Henderson, photo by Josiann Keenan
Melbourne, Fla. – On Senior Day, the Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team recorded it’s sixth straight victory with a big 19-12 win over the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. Prior to the game, The Panthers honored five of their graduating scholar athletes made up of Kailee O’Brien, Rachel Johnson, Emily Harris, Brooke Albert and Kylie Morris.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: (RV) Florida Tech 19, (RV) Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) 12
Records: Florida Tech (8-2, 0-0 SSC) | UAH (3-7, GSC)
Locations: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.
FIRST QUARTER:
- Rachel Johnson recorded the first goal of the game 1:40 into the contest thanks to an assist from Charlotte Hardie.
- The Chargers answered back just over one minute later.
- Four unanswered goals by Jennifer Boyle, Carly Niro and two from Kayla Minton put tech up 5-1 with 4:42 to go in the first.
- Johnson assisted Minton of the first of her two goals.
- UAH answered back making it 5-2 until Minton recorded her third goal of in the first quarter assisted by Sophia Scichilone with 2:04 remaining.
- Scichilone recorded a goal of her own to close out the first giving the Panthers a 7-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
SECOND QUARTER:
- To start the second Hardie scored a woman up goal giving the Panthers an even bigger lead at 8-2
- UAH scored 39 seconds later off an unassisted goal.
- A goal from Boyle assisted by Scichilone helped Tech to extend its lead once again.
- Two unanswered goals from the Chargers brought the game to withing four goals as UAH trailed.
- Hardies second goal came assisted by Gillian Craig.
- With 16 seconds left before halftime the Chargers scored making it a 10-6 contest.
THIRD QUARTER:
- Three unanswered goals for the Panthers by Craig, Scichilone and Hardie started out the third quarter extending Tech’s lead to 13-6.
- Scichilone’s goal came a woman up with Boyle assisting on Hardie’s goal.
- The Chargers fought back scoring three unanswered goals bring the game back to within four at 13-9.
- Johnson helped push Tech ahead right before the end of the quarter scoring with 25 seconds reaming to finish the third.
FOURTH QUARTER:
- UAH scored first in the fourth until Craig and Boyle each scored unanswered goals giving the Crimson and Gray a 16-10 lead.
- The Chargers scored two more unanswered goals 13 second apart.
- two goals from Johnson and one from Boyle closed out the game 19-12 giving Tech its sixth straight win.
NOTABLE PANTHERS
- Johnson Boyle and Hardie all recorded five points.
- Boyle and Johnson scored for goals with one assist while Hardie scored three goals with two assists.
- Scichilone led the team with three assists.
- Hardie and the goalkeeper Harris both led the team with four ground balls.
- Albert, O’Brien and Minton each recorded three ground balls as well.
- Mackenzie Smith led the Panthers causing three turnovers against the Chargers.
- Elizabeth Christ picked up the most ground balls totaling six with Hardie recording five.
- Emily Harris picked up her sixth win this season and is now 6-0 after making five saves against UAH.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- Florida Tech outshot Alabama-Huntsville 32-25 (26-17 for shots on goal).
- Alabama-Huntsville combined for seven saves against the Panthers with Harris making five.
- UAH tuned the ball over 17 times with Tech having 13 turnovers.
- The Crimson and Gray were 10-15 on clear attempts with the Chargers 10-13 on clear attempts.
- Florida Tech picked up 25 ground balls with UAH recording 13 ground balls.
- Alabama-Huntsville outdrew Tech 18-17 on draw controls.
- UAH scored three goals from free-position shots with Tech scoring twice on free-position opportunities.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- The Panthers are now 1-1 all time against Alabama-Huntsville
- Elizabeth Christ recorded her 100th career draw control win today. She now totals 103 for her career.
- Heading into conference play next weekend, Rachel Johnson has scored the third most goals in the SSC with 26.
- Johnson is also fourth in shots per game and sixth in points per game with 33 from 26 goals and seven assists.
- Carly Niro and Sophia Scichilone are tied for eight for the most assists in the conference.
- Jennifer Boyle has the second most ground balls in the conference with 23 while Niro and Hardie are tied for third with 22 ground balls this season.
- Hardie has also tied for the third most caused turnovers in the SSC with 15. Niro, Christ and Boyle are tied for sixth as each have 10 caused turnovers.
- Christ leads the SSC in draw controls wins with 46 and is averaging the third highest draw control wins average per game averaging 4.60 per game.
- Emma Angelo is ranked fifth in draw controls wins with 32.
- Emily Harris has the lowest goals against average in the conference averaging 6.00 goals allowed per game.
UP NEXT: No. 4 University of Tampa will travel to Melbourne next Saturday night on March 25th for a 7:00 PM game against the Panthers at Rick Stottler Field. Florida Tech is currently 5-3 all time against the Spartans and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak which they’re looking to break out of on its home turf.
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.