SJP alum Carly Niro 4G, PB Central alum Sophia Scichilone 1G/5A, Sarasota alum Kyla Vendemia 1G

BOX SCORE

via FIT press release/website, by Alex Henderson

Melbourne, Fla. – The Florida Tech women’s lacrosse picked up a huge 19-1 victory over visiting Westminster on Tuesday night. Four Panthers recorded hat tricks in the game as the No.23 Panthers improved to 5-3.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #23 Florida Tech 19, Westminster (UTAH) 1
Records: Florida Tech (5-3, 0-0 SSC) | Westminster (0-3, 0-0 RMAC)
Locations: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER:

• Florida Tech was able to jump out to an early 2-0 lead against Westminster thanks to a free position goal from Bender to start the game followed by Carly Niro’s goal off an assist from Sophia Scichilone for the pair’s first points of the game.
• Westminster Annabelle Kugler scored Griffin’s first and last goal of the game off an assist from Celia Fidanza with 10:45 to play in the first.
• Florida Tech continued to put the Hammer down scoring eight unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes of the game to make it 10-1 at the end of the first.
• The first quarter was highlighted by Carly Niro recording a hat trick in the first quarter alone.
• Scichilone put up big numbers in the first 15 too, as she tallied four points from one goal and three assists.

SECOND QUARTER:

• The second quarter had the Panthers put up five more goals to make it 13 unanswered goals for Tech.
• In the second, Bender found herself becoming the second Panther of the night with a hat trick with her two goals in the first and two in the second.
• Scichilone would tack on two assists in the second quarter as well as Emma Angelo, Charlotte Hardie, and Niro scoring just before the half to put the Panthers ahead 15-1.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Caroline Finn’s third goal of the contest, as she also scored twice in the first, was enough to allow her to become the third Panther of the game to score a hat trick.
• Playing the second half of the game in goal, Kellen Lucchesi recorded four out of her five total saves in the third while not allowing a goal for the second half.

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FOURTH QUARTER:

• As the Panthers lead with a dominant 16-1 lead in the fourth, Kyla Vendemia, Charlotte Hardie, and Karly Liebendorfer all scored to conclude the game and make it a Florida Tech victory by a score of 19-1.
• Hardie’s woman-up goal in the fourth was her third of the game allowing her to join Niro, Bender, and Finn with Florida Tech hat tricks.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Sophia Scichilone led the team with six points five assists and one goal.
• Carly Niro and Sofie Bender both scored four goals each while Caroline Finn and Charlotte Hardie both tacked on three goals each against the Griffins.
• Karly Liebendorfer, Kyla Vendemia, Phoebe Hurt, and Finn both picked up two ground balls.
• Niro and Hardie each led the team with two caused turnovers.
• Emma Angelo and Liebendorfer helped Tech at the Draw circle as each recorded five draw control wins.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Florida Tech moves to 1-0 against Westminster (Utah) in the team’s inaugural meeting.
• Tech out shot Westminster 34-10.
• Westminster made nine saves against 28 shots on goal to the Panther’s six saves against seven shots on goal.
• The Griffins turned the ball over 17 times with Tech committing 13 turnovers.
• The Panthers managed to go 13-15 on clear attempts while the Griffins were just above .500 going 8-15 on clears.
• Tech scooped up 18 ground balls with Westminster only recording 10 ground balls.
• Florida Tech won 17 of the 23 draw controls.
• The Panthers were 3-7 in Free Position shots while Westminster did not get fouled by any Panthers in the arch.
• Scichilone’s 22 assists are the second most of any player in the conference along with her 2.75 assists per game average. Her 41 points are the fifth most points by any conference player so far this season.
• Cailey Canessa improved to 5-3 in the net this season while Zoe Garside of Westminster fell to 0-1 to start the season.

UP NEXT: Florida Tech’s final home game of their five-game home stand will take place in Thursday, March 14^th as the No.23 Panthers take on the No.18 Saint Anselm Hawks in a top-25 matchup. First draw Is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Rick Stottler Field

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.