thanks to Daniel Supraner, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications – Florida Tech Athletics and Travis Larner, Athletic Communications Assistant – Florida Southern College for their game recaps   FIT Women:  Panthers’ Inaugural Season Ends with 19-9 Loss to Mocs in SSC Semifinals   FIT keeps it close in the first half, but unable to contain high-powered Florida Southern attack MELBOURNE, Fla. (Women’s Lacrosse) – Florida Tech’s (7-9, 1-4 SSC) season ended in the Sunshine State Conference semifinals on Friday night against No. 1 seed Florida Southern (19-2, 5-0 SSC) at Bryant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. The Panthers were down just three at halftime, but the Mocs piled it on in the second half en route to a 19-9 victory. Freshman Sara Grenier led Florida Tech with three goals and one assist, while sophomore Allie Modica finished with a hat trick. Freshmen Caroline Dunleavy and Heather Molander each recorded one goal and one assist. Shannon Gilfedder opened the scoring for Florida Southern. Grenier answered with her first of the game, but Lorianne Hoover struck thirty seconds later for the Mocs to push them ahead 2-1. Modica tied the game at two goals apiece with 21:57 remaining in the half. Florida Southern responded with six of the next seven scores to jump ahead 8-3. Modica tallied the Panthers’ final two goals of the half to head into halftime down 8-5. The Mocs scored three consecutive goals to start the second half. Dunleavy found sophomore Heather Roache for her only goal of the game to decrease their deficit to 11-6. Hoover hit the back of the net again to push the Mocs’ lead back to six, but Dunleavy answered for the Panthers with an unassisted goal with 21:18 left in the second half. Florida Southern sealed the victory, scoring seven of the final nine goals of the game. With the win, the Mocs will advance to the SSC Championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. “I couldn’t be more proud of the way we played tonight,” said head coach Corinne Desrosiers. “Take one look at that box score and you’ll see. Florida Southern finished more but we were in that game the whole time. When you have that many caused turnovers and picked off passes against a top five team, and your squad is full of first year players, you have to be this proud.” Florida Tech won the ground ball battle (25-23) and kept it close in the shot department (26-30) with the high-powered Florida Southern squad. “We have had some inconsistent play this month but we really stepped up and took it to Florida Southern tonight,” stated Desrosiers. “We really got beat today on the fast breaks, but when we made them slow it down and settle, we stopped them. To say we are excited for the future is an understatement.”   Box Score: http://www.floridatechsports.com/media/2014-15/wlacrosse/stats/fitw16.htm 2015 Schedule: http://www.floridatechsports.com/wlacrosse/schedule/ 2015 Roster: http://www.floridatechsports.com/wlacrosse/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     Florida Southern Women’s Lacrosse Advances to Inaugural SSC Tournament Championship Following Win Over Florida Tech   LAKELAND – No. 5 Florida Southern pulled away from upset-minded Florida Tech in the second half to win Friday night’s Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinal, 19-9, and earn a berth in the inaugural title game against Rollins College. The No. 1 seed Moccasins, now 19-2 on the season, will host the second-seeded Tars (12-4) in the SSC Tournament Championship on Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. at Bryant Stadium. Rollins won the first semifinal game over Saint Leo, 15-3. After suffering a 19-4 defeat at the hands of the Mocs in FSC’s regular-season finale on April 18, the Panthers (7-9) put up a much stronger fight in the first half of Friday’s contest. “I know it was tough in the beginning, but it was good that we had a close game and a tight game,” said Florida Southern head coach Kara Reber. “We had to battle for 60 minutes and that’s only going to make us stronger.” One of the main differences between the two games was the performance of FIT’s leading scorers, Sara Grenier and Allie Modica, who ranked second and third in the conference, respectively, in goals scored. Last week, they combined for only one goal on eight shots, but they each finished with a hat trick in the rematch. Modica also had a game-high six ground balls while causing three turnovers for the Panthers. More than half of Florida Tech’s goals came off free position attempts. The Panthers’ five free position goals and 12 attempts both represent season-highs for an FSC opponent, as do the 39 fouls assessed against the Mocs. The Mocs had five different players finish with a hat trick or better. Senior Lorianne Hoover (Annapolis, Md.) was a force on both ends of the field, pacing FSC with four goals on offense and five caused turnovers on defense. She also grabbed five draw controls and four ground balls. “Lori had a really good game today,” Reber said. “She did great on the draw. Defensively she was able to ride really well and create a couple of turnovers, and then offensively, they found her a lot on the inside and she finished her shots. “It was one of the best games she’s had this year, but I know she’s got more in her for Sunday.” Senior Caitlin Chase (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) recorded a game-high six points with three goals and three assists. Fellow senior Megan Asper (Parkton, Md.) and freshman Emily Santoli (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) each finished with three goals and one assist. Asper also made a major impact off the draw. She won six off her game-high seven draw controls in the second half, and as a team, the Mocs outgained the Panthers 14-to-2 off the draw in the final 30 minutes. “The change from the first half to the second half helped us a ton,” explained Reber. “Instead of having Megan (Asper) on the draw, we had her on the outside of the circle, and she ended up winning a lot of draws in the second half outside the circle.” Modica knotted the game at 2-all at the 27:12 mark in the first half with her first of two free position goals. Junior defender Nicole Bellini (Winter Park, Fla.) stripped FIT’s Jenni Juliano and cleared the ball to FSC’s offensive zone. From the 20-yard line on the right-wing side, she fired a pass to a wide-open Chase inside the circle to give the Mocs a 3-2 advantage at 18:05. Although the Mocs wouldn’t relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest, the Panthers managed to keep it close. A Heather Molander free position goal made it a one-score game, 4-3, at 11:38. Following a four-goal run by the Mocs, Modica scored twice inside the final five minutes of the first half to bring her team within three, 8-5. FSC outscored FIT 11-4 in the second half to run away with the game. Hoover, Chase and Asper scored in order to pull ahead 11-5 less than five minutes into the second half. Santoli’s unassisted tally at 11:25 allowed the Mocs to double-up the Panthers, 14-7. Sophomore Kendall Kerge (Edgewater, Md.) began a three-goal run inside the final five minutes to make it a 10-goal difference. Redshirt freshman Ashley Seborowski made seven of her 10 saves in the second half, including three on free position shots by the Panthers, to earn her 17th save of the season and break former two-time NCAA Division II Goalkeeper of the Year Katie Hammerer’s school record for victories in a season. Not only will Sunday’s title game decide the winner of the SSC Tournament, but it could also decide which team advances to the eight-team NCAA Championship Tournament. FSC was ranked third in the South Region in the latest rankings, released by the NCAA on Wednesday, while the Tars fell one spot to No. 5. Only four teams from the South will earn a berth in the national championship tournament. Even though winning the conference tournament does not provide an automatic-qualifying bid, a loss could spoil FSC’s chances while a win would likely solidify the Mocs at No. 3. For all information on the 2015 SSC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament, including links to live stats and the video stream for the title game on Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. between Florida Southern and Rollins, visit the SSC Tournament home page.   Travis Larner Athletic Communications Assistant Florida Southern College 111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr. Lakeland, FL 33801 E: tlarner@flsouthern.edu P: 863-680-4256