Steinbrenner alum Natalie Jones 1G/1A/2GBs, Steinbrenner alum Katie Lind 3GBs/2CTOs for Saint Leo. SJP alum Carly Niro 2G/2GBs/2DCs, PB Central alum Sophia Scichilone 1A for FIT.

via the school press releases/websites

BOX SCORE

#14 Women’s Lacrosse Takes Care of Florida Tech in Regular Season Finale

by George Hillen | Manager of Athletic Communications

SAINT LEO, Fla. – After senior Fiona McLaughlin tied a career-best and a program record of seven goals, the 14th-ranked Saint Leo women’s lacrosse team earned a 15-12 win over Florida Tech on Tuesday night in Sunshine State Conference (SSC) action.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before freshmen Briana Bellando and Natalie Jones on player-up opportunities to tie the game at 2-2, however, Florida Tech tallied of pair of goals to close out the first quarter and lead by a 4-2 margin heading into the second frame.

McLaughlin ignited a six-goal run for the Lions to claim a 7-4 advantage as sophomores Jana Nuss and Sophia Wood were able to find the back of the net during the scoring frenzy. The Panthers answered with two goals to end the quarter as the Green and Gold held a slight 7-6 lead at halftime.

Although Florida Tech scored first in the third quarter, Saint Leo countered with a trio of goals, two of which coming from McLaughlin as the Lions led by a 10-7 margin. The Panthers trimmed their deficit to 10-9 before junior Emma Hayhurst laced a goal off a dish from senior Cassidy Passaro. Saint Leo scored the following four goals, all of which were in player-up situations while McLaughlin tallied three of them and junior Maria Palomba registered the other to give the Lions a 15-9 cushion. In the last one minute and 30 seconds, Florida Tech laced three consecutive goals, however, the Green and Gold were still able to hold them at bay and secure the victory, 15-12.

McLaughlin tied the program record and tied a career-high with seven goals. Nuss posted two goals and a pair of assists while Passaro registered four assists. Wood notched two goals. Both Jones and Palomba recorded one goal and one assist while Hayhurst and Bellando tallied one goal each. Palomba also collected eight draw controls while Hayhurst tallied five. Sophomore Parker Surace and freshman Katie Lind registered three groundballs while Lind also caused two turnovers. In the net, sophomore Jessica Harclerode posted 11 saves in the complete-game effort to earn the win.

The Lions return to action on Saturday, April 20 as they host a first-round matchup of the SSC Championship Tournament with an opponent and start time to be announced.

*****

Women’s Lacrosse 2024 Season Concludes in Saint Leo

by Alex Henderson

SAINT LEO, Fla. – No.20 Florida Tech women’s lacrosse hit the road on Tuesday night to take on the No.14 Saint Leo Lions in Saint Leo, Fla.. The contest between the Panthers and Saint Leo was a back and forth battle that was a close one until the end but ultimately saw the Lions walk away with the 15-12 win.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #20 Florida Tech 12, #14 Saint Leo 15
Records: Florida Tech (7-10, 1-6 SSC), Saint Leo (11-5, 5-2 SSC)
Locations: University Turf Stadium | Saint Leo, Fla.  

FIRST QUARTER:

• Florida Tech got out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Carly Niro and Sofie Bender through the first nine minutes of the quarter.
• Saint Leo answered back with two goals of their own at 5:19 and 2:20 to tie it 2-2.
• With 33 seconds to play Jennie Boyle found the back of the goal to give Tech the 3-2 lead.
• Sofie Bender would score for the second time in the first quarter with one second left on the clock, allowing Tech to take the 4-2 lead.

SECOND QUARTER:

• Through the first 10 minutes in the second quarter the Lions managed to score five unanswered goals to take the 7-4 lead.
• At 4:13 Carly Niro would score for Tech to cut its deficit to two goals 7-5.
• With 1:51 left on the clock before half, Caroline Finn score the final goal of the quarter, cutting the Lions lead to one goal thanks to an assist from Boyle.

THIRD QUARTER:

• A goal from Kayla Minton off an assist from Bender allowed the Panthers to tie the contest at 7-7 eight minutes into the third quarter.
• The Lions recorded three straight goals to jump ahead 10-7.
• Goals from Karly Liebendorfer and Sofie Bender would bring Tech back to within one at 3:41.
• The Lions closed out the third finding the back of the net twice to make it a 12-9 game with Saint Leo lead heading into the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER: 

• Saint Leo would continue to add on goals as they pulled away with a 15-9 lead with 8:31 to play.
• With 1:25 remaining in the contest, The Panthers did not go down without a fight as Kayla Minton scored off an assist from Gabrielle Skowronski.
• Jennie Boyle would go on to score twice in under 50 seconds but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers fell to the Lions 15-12.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Sofie Bender and Jennie Boyle both finished the night with four points from three goals and one assist.
• Kayla Minton recorded three points in the game from two goals and an assist.
• Millie Hurt was able to record three ground balls to lead the Panthers.
• M.Hurt, Carly Niro and Michaela Wittman all led Tech with two caused turnovers.
• Emma Angelo was the Crimson and Gray’s leader at the circle with seven draw control wins.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Florida Tech falls to 4-6 all time against Saint Leo and is now 2-4 all-time in Saint Leo.
• The Panthers outshot Saint Leo 31-29 while recording 23 shots on goals to the Lions 24 shots on goal.
• Saint Leo turned the ball over 13 times with Tech recording just 10 turnovers.
• The Crimson and Gray were 13-15 on clear attempts while the Lions went 17-21.
• Tech won 16 of the 31 total draw controls.
• Tech was unable to get a free position attempt while the Lions were 1-5.

UP NEXT: Women’s lacrosse’s loss to the Lions on Tuesday night concludes the Panthers 2024 season.

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.