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FIT Men: Panthers End Skid with Thrilling Victory over Griffins 12-11

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
via press release – photo via FIT web site   MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s Lacrosse) – Just like the previous four games, Florida Tech found itself in another nail biter, this time against Chestnut Hill at home Tuesday afternoon. However, unlike the last four, the Panthers were able to pull out the victory thanks to a man-down goal scored by Cody Martin with just over two minutes remaining as they defeated the Griffins 12-11 at Panther Field. The win snaps a four-game skid for FIT, who improved its record to 2-4 overall. CHC fell to 1-2 on the season. Martin finished with three goals in the game and Logan Sweeney recorded a hat trick, as well, for the Panthers. Ben Abell scored two goals and Nick Wynne chipped in a goal and an assist. Carson Clough finished with a team-best five ground balls, while Addison Abramson hauled in three ground balls, to go along with a game-high three caused turnovers and an assist. Daniel Flock (2-4) picked up his second win of the season in between the pipes, making 13 saves in the game. The Panthers bested the Griffins in several key categories, including shots (42-33), ground balls (31-29) and faceoffs (17-9). Lance Pavlina dominated the draws for FIT, winning 16-of-24 for his team. Goals by Martin and Clough put Florida Tech on top early in the game, 2-0 with 11:22 remaining in the first quarter. The Griffins tied the game up at 2-2 with tallies by Tanner Fisher and Justin Albarran over a span of 41 seconds. Martin’s second score came on a unassisted effort to hand the Panthers a 3-2 lead with 4:51 left in the opening period. However, four unanswered goals by CHC helped it take a 6-3 advantage at the 8:15 mark of second quarter. Abramson helped stop the bleeding when he created a fast break and found Abell on the crease to cut the deficit to two before halftime. The Panthers scored three of the first four goals of the second half, the final two coming off the crosse of Sweeney over a 46 second span, and tied the game at 7-7 with 11:13 remaining in the third. The Griffins responded, taking advantage of a pair of costly FIT penalties, and regained the lead 9-7 at the 14:00 mark of the fourth quarter. Following a third faceoff violation being attributed to CHC’s Blake Turner, FIT got back on the board on a man-up score by Wynne. His tally ignited a four-goal run that grabbed the Panthers a 11-9 lead with 9:44 left on the clock. The Griffins temporarily halted the Crimson and Gray’s momentum with goals by Carson Rees and Fisher to tie the game up a 11-11. With the Panthers facing another man-down situation, Nate Menninger came up with a big play, forcing a CHC turnover and then finding Martin in front of the Griffins’ cage for the game-winner with 2:20 remaining. Pavlina won the ensuing faceoff for FIT and the Panthers were able to run out the rest of the clock. Florida Tech returns to action this Saturday, Mar. 11, in a neutral site showdown with Seton Hill in Charlotte, North Carolina. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.