via the school’s recaps, plus SportsLowdown.com

BOX SCORE

No. 14 Panthers Defeat Eagles to Clinch SSC Tournament Spot

by Daniel Supraner

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: #14 Florida Tech 15, Embry-Riddle 12
Records: Florida Tech (9-4, 4-1 SSC), Embry-Riddle (4-11, 1-4 SSC)
Location: Panther Field | Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER:

• Embry-Riddle got on the board first just 57 seconds into the game, but Zach Rozgonyi tied the score at 1-1 with 13:05 left in the first. 
• After the Eagles regained a 2-1 lead, Austin Engeler and Rozgonyi both scored off assists from Nate Deplancke, and the Panthers took a 3-2 advantage into the second quarter. 

SECOND QUARTER:

• ERAU scored a pair of goals to open the quarter to grab a 4-3 lead with 10:44 to go in the first half. 
• Collin Stewart scored off an assist from Sam Balch to tie the game at 4-4 with 5:16 left. 
• Gavin Wessel tallied a rebound goal with 4:13 to go to hand Tech a 5-4 advantage. 
• Rozgonyi netted consecutive goals, his first on a man-up off an assist from Justin Williams and his second coming from a feed by Stewart, to push the Panthers’ lead to 7-4 with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. 
• Eagles snuck one in with 13 seconds to go in the frame and the Panthers went into halftime with a 7-5 lead. 

THIRD QUARTER: 

• Tech scored four straight goals by four different players to open the third quarter to increase the margin to 11-5 with 7:16 to go. Bennett Duffy, Jakob Terpak, Williams, and Matt Gutmann scored goals during the run.
• After ERAU trimmed the different to 11-6, Williams scored his second of the game to make the score 12-6 with 2:10 left in the quarter. 
• Eagles scored with 52 seconds to go in the third to get the margin to 12-7 heading to the fourth quarter.  

FOURTH QUARTER:

• Rozgonyi tallied his fifth goal of the game with 11:48 remaining in the fourth to push Tech’s lead to 13-7. That was his 37th goal of the season, which ties the single season goals record. 
• Embry-Riddle fought its way back into the game with five unanswered goals to cut the Panthers’ lead to 13-12 with 4:58 left. 
• Tech responded with unassisted goals by Stewart and Terpak over a 46 second span to make it a three-goal lead, 15-12, with 2:04 to go. 
• Panthers ran out the rest of the clock en route to their fourth SSC win of the season and clinched a spot in this year’s SSC Tournament. 

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Zach Rozgonyi recorded 5 goals and 5 ground balls. 
• Collin Stewart tallied 2 goals and 2 assists to go along with 3 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers. 
• Justin Williams finished with 2 goals and 2 assists. 
• Jakob Terpak scored 2 goals.
• Nate Deplancke dished out 2 assists.
• Andrew Ward collected 4 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers.
• Matthew Hill and Cole Marini picked up 3 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers. 
• JP Panchookian finished with 2 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers. 
• Sam Balch had 2 ground balls, 1 caused turnover and 1 assist. 
• Jack Maranto won 10-25 faceoffs and picked up 4 ground balls. 
• John Hulsman improved to 9-4 overall while making 9 saves in the game. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech finished with an edge in shots (47-43), shots on goal (26-21) and caused turnovers (12-9).
• Both teams collected 44 ground balls. 
• Eagles won 19-30 faceoffs.
• Panthers were 2-3 on man-up tries while limiting ERAU to 0-3.
• ERAU turned the ball of 21 times compared to 17 for the Panthers. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• With the win, Florida Tech clinches a spot in the 2022 SSC Tournament. 
• Zach Rozgonyi tied the program’s single season goals record held by Jason Terry with his 37th goal of the season at the 11:48 mark of the fourth quarter.  
• Florida Tech improves to 3-0 all-time versus Embry-Riddle.

UP NEXT: Panthers are back in action on Saturday, April 16, hosting No. 12 Florida Southern for Senior Day at Panther Field. The game is set to begin at 11 a.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.

*****

Men’s Lacrosse Pushes No. 14 Florida Tech to the Brink Before Dropping 15-12 Road Decision

by Ryan Mosher

MELBOURNE, Florida – Fresh off its first-ever Sunshine State Conference win last Saturday, the Embry-Riddle men’s lacrosse team nearly registered its second SSC victory on Wednesday afternoon against the 14th-ranked Florida Tech Panthers, but the home team was able to just hold on against the Blue and Gold, 15-12. The Eagles (4-11, 1-4 SSC) turned around a five-goal deficit after the third quarter, scoring five straight at one point in the final period to get within one goal of the Panthers (9-4, 4-1 SSC) with about five minutes to play, and having two shots that would have tied the contest, but the Panthers were able to stop the Eagle momentum and score the final two goals of the day to take the 15-12 decision.

It was the Eagles that scored first, holding a 1-0 lead after a Gage Poindexter score less than 60 seconds into the game, and after an equalizing goal from FT, Christian Hofer scored the first of his three goals in the contest, putting the Eagles back in front, 2-1.

The hosts and visitors went more than five minutes without scoring following Hofer’s goal, but the home team was able to break through twice in the final four minutes, taking a 3-2 lead after one.

Mark Urso, who finished the day winning 63% of his face offs, won the opening face off the second quarter, and Coleman Jacobs quickly tied the game with his 34th goal of the year. Marcus Needham added a score a few minutes later as the Eagles again enjoyed a one-goal advantage.

FT was able to beat Lucas Fraser four times over a four-minute span late in the half, going up 7-4 with 90 seconds to play, but Needham got his second goal of the game with mere seconds remaining to give the Eagles a little momentum heading into the break.

The third quarter was controlled by the No. 14 Panthers. They scored five goals to just two for the Eagles (Pete Abbes and Joe Anderson each with one), and led it 12-7 after three quarters.

Florida Tech scored the first goal of the fourth quarter more than three minutes into the period, but from the 11:48 mark to the five-minute mark, the Blue and Gold dominated, starting at the face off spot with Urso. The Eagle junior won five of the next six face offs, and ERAU took advantage, getting a score from Anderson, and then Jacobs to get within 13-9 with 7:47 on the clock.

Abbes’ second goal of the game got the Eagles to within three, and Embry-Riddle added two more goals, both from Hofer, over the next 90 seconds, the last of which cut the Eagle deficit to 13-12.

Urso won the ensuing face off, and the Eagles had shots from both Jacobs and Gavin Madden that would have tied the game, but the Panthers were able to escape any further damage and sealed the game with a pair of goals over the final three minutes.

Hofer’s hat trick was the third of the season for him, and he also added two assists for a five-point day. Jacobs, Abbes, Needham and Anderson each finished with two goals.

Fraser, who broke his own program single-season saves record last week, now stands at 181 saves on the year after adding 11 on Wednesday.

Urso continued his recent string of dominance at the face off position with 19 wins in 30 attempts, as the Eagles have strung together nine consecutive games winning the face off battle.

Embry-Riddle stays on the road to take on Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday, April 16 at 4 p.m. in West Palm Beach.

*****

SportsLowdown.com

Rozgonyi Stars in Panthers Win over ERAU

Excerpt:

The 14th ranked Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team (9-4, 4-1 SSC) got five goals from Zach Rozgonyi on Wednesday, en route to a 15-12 win over the Embry-Riddle Eagles (4-11, 1-4 SSC) in the backyard at the Olin Complex on the Florida Tech campus.

Rozgonyi’s fifth goal of the day came with 11:48 left in the fourth quarter. It was his 37th of the season, tying the single-season record that he now holds with Jason Terry, who has held the record since 2015.

At the time of Rozgonyi’s final goal of the day, the Panthers led 13-7. The Eagles made a game of it, scoring five consecutive times to make it 13-12. A couple of late goals gave the Panthers the victory and secured a spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament later this month.

Gage Poindexter got the scoring started 57 seconds in before Rozgonyi scored his first of the day to tie it. Both teams would then hit the post as Panthers starter John Hulsman and Lucas Fraser for ERAU got some help from the iron. Hulsman was credited with nine saves, while Fraser had 11.

Read the rest HERE