via the school’s press releases/websites

BOX SCORE

Boyle’s Hat Trick Helps Panthers Defeat Ave Maria

by Alex Henderson, photo by Josiann Keenan

Ave Maria, Fla. – The Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team travelled to Ave Maria on Friday evening to face off against the Gyrenes which resulted in a Florida Tech victory by a score of 15-4.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech, Ave Maria
Records: Florida Tech (2-1, 0-0 SSC) Ave Maria (0-1, 0-0 Sun Conference)
Locations: Gyrene Field | Ave Maria, Fla.  

FIRST QUARTER:

• Jennifer Boyle got the Panthers on the scoreboard first with an assist from Caroline Finn with 7:21 to go.
• The Gyrenes tied it up with 6:35 remaining before the second quarter.
• Boyle got into the assist column after setting up Sophia Scichilone for a goal.
• Emma Angelo then recorded a man up goal with 1:50 to go in the first.
• With a setup assist from Gabrielle Skowronski, Caroline Finn recorded her first goal of the game.
• Jennifer Boyle scored her second goal of the game with three seconds to go before the end of the first.
• Tech led 5-1 going into the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER:

• Rachel Johnson got herself in the goals column after 4:50 of play in the second.
• Gillian Craig then then scored to put Tech up 7-1 with 8:20 remaining.
• Carly Niro then scored her team leading sixth goal of the season with an assist from Johnson.
• Elizabeth Christ of the Panthers would later score her second goal of the season with 3:11 before the half.
• Millie Hurt went on to record a free position goal, her second goal this year.
• At the Half the Panthers lead by a big 10-1 lead.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Preseason All-American honoree Kayla Minton recorded her first goal of the season after 3:50 in the third quart, her first goal of the year.
• The Gyrenes, answered back with a goal of their own making it an 11-2 game.
• Minton then scored her second goal of the game with 8:01 to go in the third off an assist from Kailee O’Brien.
• Scichilone’s second goal of the contest came with 4:10 to go in the third to put the Panthers up 13-2 before the final quarter. 

FOURTH QUARTER:

• Ave Maria would get back to within 10 goals after scoring 1:36 into the final quarter of play.
• Jennifer Boyle scored herself a hattrick for the game with 10:13 remaining.
• Johnson scored her second of the game leading Tech up by twelve and 6:20 to go in the quarter.
• Ave Maria scored with 24 second left in the game, making the final score 15-4 in Tech’s favor to win their second game of the season. 

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Carly Niro scored her sixth goal of the season against the Gyrenes.
• Jennifer Boyle led all Panthers with four points from three goals and an assist.
• Rachel Johnson finished with three points from two goals and ana assist.
• Gabrielle Skowronski led the team with four ground balls.
• Five different Panthers caused two or more turnovers in the contest.
• Kellen Lucchesi picked up her first win of the season saving two shots in the game while only allowing one goal. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech had the advantage is almost every team category.
• Panthers had 24 shots to Ave’s eight
• Tech recorded three fewer turnovers than the Gyrenes.
• The Panthers were a perfect 5-5 on clear attempts.
• The Crimson and Grey scooped up 19 ground balls.

UP NEXT: The Panthers will return to action in Harrogate, Tennessee where they’ll take on Lincoln Memorial University at 3:00 PM on Friday, February 24^th at the LMU Lacrosse Complex.

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.

*****

Shaffrey Sets Assists Record in Opener

AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team began the 2023 season with a major challenge on Friday evening, facing the Panthers of NCAA Division II Florida Tech. The Gyrenes fell 15-4 to the Panthers, although Florida Tech’s margin of victory was lower against the Gyrenes than in games against fellow Sun Conference opponents Keiser and St. Thomas. Friday’s game was the first as head coach for Katelyn Sherman. 

The Gyrene defense held tough early on, keeping the Panthers to just one goal in the first nine minutes of the game. Thanks to a goal from Orianna Eldridge around eight minutes in, Ave Maria and Florida Tech were even at one with six minutes left in the first quarter. Florida Tech fully took control from there, scoring the final nine goals of the first half, then scoring again to start the running clock. 

Ave Maria never let Florida Tech’s lead grow past 12 goals, as the Gyrene scored three goals in the second half after putting just one past the keeper in the first 30 minutes. Hannah Shaffrey ended Florida Tech’s run of ten straight goals with her first of the season in the third quarter. Shaffrey and Eldridge both scored in the fourth quarter, as well, ending the opening game with two goals each.

Florida Tech kept control of the contest by winning 15 of the game’s 22 draws. The Panthers also played well defensively, forcing 18 Ave Maria turnovers. The draw controls and turnovers helped Florida Tech stay consistently on offense, as the Panthers attempted 24 shots to Ave Maria’s eight. Of those 24 shots, 16 came in the first half.

Shaffrey assisted on both of Eldridge’s goals, giving her four points in the first game of the season. The two assists gave Shaffrey sole possession of the Ave Maria career record in assists, with the sophomore logging 27 in her first season and a game on campus. Elsewhere, Kylie Tittinger and Abbey Seiler both scooped up three ground balls in the opener, while Seiler led the Gyrenes on the restarts with four draw controls. Orianna Eldridge led the defensive effort with five caused turnovers, while Hannah McConologue made six saves in goal.

AMU’s second week of the regular season will be a key one, with two rivalry games on the docket. The first of those games will be Ave Maria’s first ever meeting with St. Thomas University, with opening draw set for 6:00 p.m. Wednesday in Miami Gardens. The Gyrenes will then welcome Georgetown College to Gyrene Field on Saturday for a rematch of last season’s conference tournament quarterfinals.