via the school’s press releases, photo by Josiann Keenan

BOX SCORE

Women’s Lacrosse Bounces Back Against Bobcats

by Alex Henderson

Melbourne, Fla. – The Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team earned its first victory of the season on Tuesday, February 7^th at Rick Stottler Field against St. Thomas, 17-3.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 17, St. Thomas 3
Records: Florida Tech (1-1, 0-0 SSC) | St. Thomas (1-1, 0-0 Sun Conference)
Locations: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.  

FIRST QUARTER:

• Caroline Finn scored the Panther’s first goal of the night just 1:15 into the game.
• Preseason All-American Kailee O’Brien tallied her first point of the season with a goal 4:58 into the first.
• With 4:55 to go in the first, Rachel Johnson tallied her second goal of the season
• Gillian Craig, the sophomore transfer from Presbyterian College, ended the first quarter by scoring two goals within a minute to lead the Bobcats 6-0 going into the second. Craig’s goals were her first in a Panthers uniform
• Emily Harris recorded a shutout quarter in net for the Panthers. 

SECOND QUARTER:

• Carly Niro’s second goal of the season game with 11:56 to go in the second off an assist from Kailee O’Brien.
• the Bobcat’s first goal of their inaugural season came as Noelle Heggblod scored with 10:14 to go in the second.
• Carly Niro would later score her third goal of the season with 2:29 to go before the half.
• With under a minute to go in the second both Emma Angelo and Millie Hurt score their first goals of the season. Angelo’s goal was the first of her collegiate career.
• Kellen Lucchesi, played the second quarter, making one save.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Leading 10-1 after the break, Elizabeth Christ scored the Panther’s 11^th goal of the night.
• Charlotte Hardie would then score her second goal of the season off a free position shot to put the Crimson and grey up 12-1.
• Niro’s third and hat-trick goal of the night came with 7:20 to go in the third.
• Niro then scored her fifth goal of the season and fourth of the night with 3:52 to go in the third with an assist from Jennifer Boyle.
• Cailey Caneesa had a shutout third in net.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• Sophia Scichilone recorded her third goal of the season 1:31 into the fourth to put Tech up 15-1.
• Heggblod scored her second goal of the to decrease St. Thomas’s deficit 15-2.
• Emma Angelo recorded her second goal of the night as Olivia John then scored the first goal of her collegiate career with an assist from Gabrielle Skowronski with 5:08 to go in the fourth to put the Panthers up 17-2.
• St. Thomas would get one more goal before the end of the game resulting in the Panthers taking down the Bobcats 17-3. 

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Carly Niro recorded a career-high four goals in one game
• Kailee O’Brien recorded three points with two goals and one assist.
• Angelo and Craig each scored two goals.
• A total of 11 Panthers recorded a goal with 13 receiving at least one point.
• Niro and Skowronski led the team with three ground balls.
• Elizabeth Christ and Scichilone led the Panthers with two caused turnovers each. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• As a new program, this was St. Thomas’s first-ever game.
• Florida Tech outshot St. Thomas (24-7)
• Tech went 6-7 on clear attempts with St. Thomas only going 5-12.
• The Panthers out-scooped the Bobcats in groundballs (14-5)

UP NEXT: The Panthers will return to action on the road Friday, February 10^th against Ave Maria in Ava Maria, Fla. That game is set to begin at 5:00 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.

*****

Women’s Lacrosse Makes Herstory Playing in Inaugural Game

by Michelle Murch

MELBOURNE, Fla. (February 7, 2023) – St. Thomas University (STU) has had a lot of first in the recent years, with consistently adding new sports. Tuesday night another set of first were etched in history, or as the team says herstory with the Women’s Lacrosse team (0-1) taking the field for the first time ever. St. Thomas traveled two hours and 30 minutes to Rick Stottler Field and take on the NCAA Division II opponent, Florida Institute of Technology, in the inaugural season opener.
 
Although the score did not end in favor of the Bobcat there was still a lot of positives to look at in the game. Noelle Heggblod scored the first goal of the season in the second period taking it straight in on the one-on-one and scoring unassisted.
 
Heading into the final frame Heggblod saw an opening and drove in straight from the top to score once again with no help. Jorja Schooler was the only other Bobcat to score finding the back of the net with the help from Heggblod.  The sophomore midfielder stole the show with two goals and an assist to total three points.
 
Great Woods, Noelle Heggblod, Jorja Schooler, Kiersten Lang, and Samantha Diadema all recorded a ground ball. The defense forced 11-turnovers for the Panthers.
 
St. Thomas will look ahead to face another new program on Saturday at Warner with a start time of 1 p.m.