From Floridatechsports.com Newcomers shine in season opening victory over Young Harris on Friday MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s Lacrosse) -Florida Tech had high expectations and a lot to prove entering its season opener against Young Harris on Friday night.  The 13th-ranked Panthers did not disappoint, revealing just a small portion of the kind of firepower this team has at its disposal in 2016. In a real back-and-forth affair, FIT found itself down by two early in the fourth quarter following a man-down goal by the Mountain Lions. With their backs against the wall, the Panther offense responded by scoring five of the next six, including the game-winner by newcomer Cody Martin with just two minutes remaining, to reclaim the lead late and hold on for the first win of the NCAA Division II season. Austen Zugelter was FIT’s most effective midfielder dodging down the alley tonight, as the junior racked up his third career hat trick on just four shots. Brian Bacarella compiled three points on two goals and one assist while anchoring the offense from behind the goal. Lefty finisher Charlie Morrisette also had a strong performance, notching two goals on three shots to go alone with two assists. Donning the Crimson and Gray for the first time in their careers, newcomers also made a significant contribution to the Panthers’ win. Martin, a JUCO-transfer, paced the pack with two goals and two assists. Freshman Brett Pohlmeyer recorded two goals on five shots and Tyler Covey added one goal and one assist. Matt Weinstein and Logan Sweeney each tallied one goal. Weinstein was the first to make his mark on the 2016 season, burying his first career goal less than three minutes into the game. YHC would score two straight after that tally, however, FIT went on to close the first quarter with three consecutive goals by Zugelter, Bacarella and Daniel Errett to take a 4-2 edge. Jayden Campbell brought the Mountain Lions back to within one early in the second but Pohlmeyer answered with his first career goal at the 10:51 mark. YHC controlled the ensuing faceoff and dished the rock around their offensive zone before Benji Lapinksi found Chandler Bradley open for the score to cut their team’s deficit to one. That kick started a 4-1 run by the visiting team that culminated with Garrett Blake’s man-up goal with 4:31 remaining in the half to push YHC up 7-6. Looking to stop the bleeding, Zugelter found space again on the wing and fired a shot past Mason King to tie the contest with just 10 seconds until the break. Five more YHC goals in the third helped the visiting team to a 12-10 advantage with 31 seconds left in the period. However, a speedy strike by Morrisette, from Covey, returned the score back to a one-point game with just seconds to spare in the quarter. Just like the previous two stanzas, the Mountain Lions struck first in the fourth quarter on a man-down goal by Matty Ledon. Although, before the time on FIT’s extra-man opportunity could run out, Martin found the back of the net to bring his squad back to within one at 12-13. This is when the Panther offense took over. Covey’s first ever score tied it up at 13 before Sweeney got into the mix, recording his first career goal to give FIT its first lead since the second quarter. Martin’s second tally of the game made it 15-13 and sealed the victory for Florida Tech, as it would only allow YHC to score one more time before the final whistle. One major key to the Panthers’ comeback was the effort put in by the guy in the face-off X, Travis Wunder. Facing a committee approach against the Mountain Lions, the junior won 22-of-34 face-offs, including 6-of-8 in the fourth quarter alone. For YHC, Gernatt finished with four goals on seven shots, and Bruce Silk and Blake notched two goals and one assist apiece. Four other Mountain Lions accounted for two points in the contest. King produced 12 saves for YHC in the losing effort, while his Panther counterpart, freshman Justin Ruiz, had five saves and earned the victory in his first career start. FIT outshot its opponent 42-29 for the game, including a 14-5 edge in the final stanza. The Panthers snagged more groundballs 38-20 and made the most of their opportunities on the extra-man, converting 4-of-5 attempts. Florida Tech gets a nice week to reboot before returning to action next Saturday, Feb. 13 with a home contest against Conference Carolinas member North Greenville.  Next week’s contest is set to kick-off at 7 p.m. ET at Florida Tech Panther Stadium.   Box Score: http://www.floridatechsports.com/mlacrosse/boxscore/2015-16/5408/young-harris-vs-florida-tech-02-05-2016/ 2016 Schedule: http://www.floridatechsports.com/mlacrosse/schedule/ 2016 Roster: http://www.floridatechsports.com/mlacrosse/roster/   Daniel Supraner Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Florida Tech Athletics 150 W. University Blvd. Melbourne, Fla. 32901 Work: 321-674-7484 Fax: 321-984-8529