via press release   Florida Tech tries to improve to 3-0 when it faces Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday at 7 p.m. ET MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s Lacrosse) – Florida Tech has had quite a layoff since defeating North Greenville 10-5 on Feb. 13. The Panthers should be well-rested for their upcoming weekend of games at Florida Tech Panther Stadium against Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and Mars Hill on Sunday at 2 p.m. Florida Tech (2-0) dominated NGU in the first half, jumping out to an 8-1 advantage at halftime. A penalty-littered second half slowed the Panther offense as it managed to find the back of the net just twice in the final two frames. Freshman goalie Justin Ruiz really picked up his play against the Crusaders. After giving up 14 goals in FIT’s season opener, the Holmdel, New Jersey-product made five saves and allowed five goals on the way to his second win of the season. Jason Terry, Cody Martin and Austen Zugelter each scored twice in the contest while four other Panthers recorded one goal apiece. Charlie Morrisette set a new career-high with three assists against NGU and currently leads the Panthers with five this season. Continuing his strong play at the faceoff X, Travis Wunder won 13-of-15 versus a trio of faceoff men for the Crusaders. The junior also collected a game-high seven groundballs in the contest. For the season, the Panthers’ ace has controlled 34-of-47 faceoffs (.723) and scooped up a team-high 12 loose balls. The Panthers will be up against a talented Lenoir-Rhyne (0-2) squad on Friday that finished 2015 with a 9-7 record, including a 6-2 mark in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears were actually defeated by FIT’s opponent on Sunday, Mars Hill, 8-7 in last season’s SAC Championship Game. LRU opened the 2016 campaign with consecutive road losses to No. 1 Limestone (23-12) and Belmont Abbey (11-10). Lenoir-Rhyne was neck-and-neck with Limestone and trailed 10-9 in the third. However, the Saints scored 12 of the next 13 goals to run away with it. In the loss to Belmont Abbey, LRU trailed 11-5 in the third before rattling off five fourth quarter tallies to come within one score before time ran out on the Bears. Mike Hanlon, Lenoir-Rhyne’s fourth leading scorer a year ago, paces the Bears this season with seven points on five goals and two assists. Carson Sterling has notched five goals this season, including three against Belmont Abbey. Ben Corrigan scored three of his four goals this season in the loss to Limestone. Shane Gottberg is the Bears’ top faceoff specialist and has won 22-of-47 attempts to go along with 12 groundballs in two games. LRU long stick midfielder Collin Lett leads the team with six caused turnovers. In goal, Ryan Crompton has been pelted with 99 shots in two games, making 28 total saves and allowing 17 goals a night in the process. This will be the fourth meeting between Florida Tech and Lenoir-Rhyne over the past five seasons. Last year, the Panthers defeated the 15th-ranked Bears 13-12 in Hickory, North Carolina. J.C. Meyerholz will have the call from Florida Tech Panther Stadium. Fans can access live coverage of the Panthers’ home opener at FloridaTechSports.com/live.   Live Coverage: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/fit/ 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